HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

City of London Remembrancer

Tom Watson: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, for what reasons the City of London Remembrancer is allowed access to the floor of the House; if the Commission will remove this right of access; and when the right of access for the Remembrancer was last reviewed.

John Thurso: The City of London Remembrancer has no right of access to the Floor of the House. The Remembrancer is one of some 15 Roll A Parliamentary Agents who work with the promoters of private Bills. Parliamentary Agents are entitled to observe proceedings from the Under Gallery in the Chamber, that is, the visitors' seats "under the gallery" facing the Speaker, for the purposes of their work. Other visitors may also sometimes sit in the Under Gallery.
	The Commission has no plans to remove the Remembrancer's access to the Under Gallery nor that of any other Roll A Parliamentary Agent. There has been no recent review of the Remembrancer's right of access.

Portcullis House

Therese Coffey: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost was of replacing chairs in the Portcullis House atrium in the last 12 months.

John Thurso: The cost of 300 new chairs for the Portcullis Atrium was £32,955 excluding VAT. These chairs were bought to replace the existing chairs which were beginning to fail. The old chairs that are still usable will be reused where possible, such as in the refurbished Members' Centre.

PRIME MINISTER

Gambling: Rehabilitation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Prime Minister if he meet the hon. Member for Strangford and a group of problem gamblers to discuss steps to take to address this issue.

David Cameron: The Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities, my hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant), has policy responsibility for these matters and I have asked her to consider this issue. The Government takes matters of problem gambling very seriously and the Minister regularly meets a number of stakeholders to discuss their concerns. These stakeholders include problem gambling charities, faith groups and the Gambling Commission.

Syria

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Prime Minister whether in the event that the Geneva Peace Talks failing, it will continue to be his policy to rule out a further vote on military intervention in Syria.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) on 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 308.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council England

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures her Department has in place to ensure that the Arts Council is making appropriate and effective use of Government funds and that is accountable for the expenditure it makes.

Edward Vaizey: The Arts Council Chair is accountable to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller). Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Arts Council leaders to discuss issues. A management agreement is in place, and settlement letters from the Department set the strategic priorities that Ministers want the Arts Council to achieve.
	As an arm’s length body of Government, the Arts Council operates in accordance with the principles of HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money, and other best practice guidance issued by Government. The Arts Council operates under the jurisdiction of the parliamentary ombudsman and accounts directly to Parliament on occasions that Parliament requires. A Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry into the Arts Council is currently under way.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will discuss with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations how best to co-ordinate approaches to the roll-out of superfast broadband in order to maximise benefits for rural communities across the UK.

Edward Vaizey: I wrote to the First Minister for the Northern Ireland Assembly on 25 February 2014 setting out the allocation of a further £7.24 million to support broadband improvements in Northern Ireland, which will need to be matched with funds from local sources. Our respective officials are working together on the process to confirm the funding and to support a new Northern Ireland project. This follows on from the £23.5 million project announced by the Northern Ireland Executive on 7 February which includes funding of £4.4 million from DCMS. We have similar arrangements in place for other parts of the UK.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Helen Grant: The proportion of civil servants in DCMS who were promoted in each of the last five years and were (a) male and (b) female were:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Calendar year (a) Male (b) Female 
			 2009 1— 1— 
			 2010 1— 1— 
			 2011 33 67 
			 2012 56 44 
			 2013 40 60 
			 1 Not known.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Helen Grant: The proportion of civil servants in DCMS who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) white British and (b) other ethnic minority were:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Calendar year (a) white British (b) other ethnic minority Not declared 
			 2009 1— 1— 1— 
			 2010 1— 1— 1— 
			 2011 50 17 33 
			 2012 89 0 11 
			 2013 90 0 10 
			 1 Not known.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Helen Grant: The proportion of civil servants in DCMS who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled were:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Calendar year (a) Disabled (b) Non-disabled Not declared 
			 2009 1— 1— 1— 
			 2010 1— 1— 1— 
			 2011 0 67 33 
			 2012 11 78 11 
			 2013 0 70 30 
			 1 Not known.

Gambling

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the number of people in (a) England and (b) the London borough of Havering who suffer from gambling addiction;
	(2)  what provisions her Department makes available to those suffering from gambling addiction;
	(3)  what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the research being undertaken by the Responsible Gambling Trust into fixed odds betting terminals is a fair assessment of the situation.

Helen Grant: The Health Survey for England, published in December 2013, estimates that between 149,000 and 214,000 individuals are identified as problem gamblers. This is equivalent to approximately 0.5% of the adult population in England. Assessment of problem gambling levels by local authority area is not available. Support to those suffering from gambling addiction is provided through a system of voluntary contributions by the gambling industry, overseen by the Responsible Gambling Trust. The Government is confident that robust mechanisms are in place to ensure the integrity of the Responsible Gambling Trust's research programme. All aspects of the research programme will be rigorously peer reviewed and transparent to the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, the Gambling Commission and Government.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work.

Helen Grant: The proportion of civil servants in DCMS who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years and have returned to work were:
	
		
			 As at 1 April to 31 March each year Proportion of civil servants who returned to work after maternity leave (percentage) 
			 2009-10 100 
			 2010-11 100 
			 2011-12 100 
			 2012-13 90 
			 2013-14 1100 
			 1 Projected return of 100%. Of those currently on maternity leave, all are expected to return. 
		
	
	There were over four times the number of women on maternity leave in 2012-13 as there were in 2009-10.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of civil servants in her Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Helen Grant: The proportion of civil servants in DCMS who had been on maternity leave and were still employed in the civil service after their return in each of the five years is:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Proportion of civil servants who have taken maternity leave and were still employed: 
			 As at 1 April to 31 March each year Six months after their return to work 12 months after their return to work 
			 2009-10 100 100 
			 2010-11 100 100 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 100 100 
			 2012-13 90 90 
			 2013-14 1100 — 
			 1 Projected return of 100%. Of those currently on maternity leave, all are expected to return. 
		
	
	There were over four times the number of women on maternity leave in 2012-13 as there were in 2009-10.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in her Department.

Helen Grant: Under the Department's Maternity Policy, the standard level and duration of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants is up of 39 weeks paid maternity leave (Ordinary Maternity Leave) and 13 weeks unpaid maternity leave.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by her Department and (b) operated by a third party on her Department's property there were at (a) 5 May 2010 and (b) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Helen Grant: There were no workplace nurseries directly operated by DCMS at 5 May 2010 or at 5 February 2014.

Tourism: Floods

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to support the tourism industries affected by the recent floods; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: holding answer 26 February 2014
	There is a £2 million package of support for tourism businesses in flood affected areas. This will deliver practical help and advice on the ground, as well as a focused marketing campaign to help boost trade for Easter and early summer. Further details are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2-million-puts-boots-on-the-ground-to-help-tourism-businesses-affected-by-floods
	A promotional push abroad to reassure overseas tourists that Britain is open for business is also being planned by VisitBritain for later in the year.

Tourism: Floods

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with tourism bodies to discuss the floods.

Helen Grant: holding answer 26 February 2014
	As Minister for Sports, Tourism and Equalities, I have met with both VisitEngland and VisitBritain to discuss the effects of the floods on tourism. Officials have also attended two meetings of the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group, which comprises representatives from across the sector, to assess the impact of the floods on tourism businesses. These discussions informed the development of the £2 million package of support announced on 1 March, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2-million-puts-boots-on-the-ground-to-help-tourism-businesses-affected-by-floods

Tourism: Floods

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she attends Cobra meetings on flooding in connection with her tourism responsibilities.

Helen Grant: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), has not attended Cobra meetings to discuss the recent flooding. However, as the Minister for Sports, Tourism and Equalities, I have met with both VisitEngland and VisitBritain to discuss the effects of the floods on tourism, while my officials have attended meetings of the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group to assess the impact of the floods on tourism businesses. These discussions informed the development of the £2 million package of support announced on 1 March.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the Government's current definition of apprenticeships is for the purpose of reporting on apprenticeship starts and achievements.

Matthew Hancock: For the purpose of reporting apprenticeship starts and achievements all apprenticeships reported on the individualised learner record (ILR) are included in the number of reported starts and achievements. Apprenticeships can also be delivered through the Employer Ownership Pilot, which are reported separately.

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to amend his Department's definition of an apprenticeship as a result of the recommendations set out in The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation Plan.

Matthew Hancock: The Deregulation Bill is currently in Committee stage. It contains provisions to amend the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 in order to implement the Government's reforms as set out in ‘The Future of Apprenticeships in England: implementation Plan’, including changes to the legal definition.

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the role of the Sector Skills Council will be in the formulation of the apprenticeships frameworks set out in The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Guidance for Trailblazers.

Matthew Hancock: Our reforms are focused on putting employers in the driving seat of apprenticeships in future, so employers will lead Trailblazers. Where employers agree collectively, they are free to involve other organisations to support their work.

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons grading was introduced as an essential feature of future apprenticeships frameworks.

Matthew Hancock: We are introducing grading into new apprenticeships, which will be based on employer designed standards. The introduction of grading is designed to encourage apprentices to strive for excellence and maximise the value of an apprenticeship in the labour market. Grading allows those who excel to be recognised when they achieve their apprenticeship.

Arms Trade: Trade Promotion

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which export promotion teams which include Ministry of Defence or military personnel (a) in UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation and (b) elsewhere promote the (i) Eurofighter Typhoon, (ii) combat ships, (iii) submarines and (iv) complex weapons.

Michael Fallon: There is only one department responsible for the promotion of defence and security exports, UK Trade & Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO). It does this with support from a number of other Government Departments and industry. In addition to its geographically organised staff and regionally based personnel, UKTI DSO includes the following product-specific teams:
	Combat Ships—Global Combat Ship Integrated Export Team, including representation from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Industry; and
	Typhoon—Typhoon Project Team.
	In addition, UKTI DSO and MOD personnel participate with industry in the Joint Export Management Team for the promotion of exports of complex weapons. There is no team dedicated specifically to the promotion of submarine exports.

Business: Co-operation

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will adopt the proposal recommended in the British Chambers of Commerce Skills and Employment Manifesto for government to work with universities to incentivise a greater focus on the development of foreign language skills and overseas mobility.

David Willetts: I very much welcome the contribution of the British Chambers of Commerce in taking steps to encourage a greater focus on the development of foreign language skills and overseas mobility.
	The Government is committed to increasing outward student mobility and encouraging students to gain international experience through work, study or volunteering placements. This is why Government is supporting a sector led UK strategy for Outward Student Mobility, to increase the number of UK students who access international placements as part of their degree programmes.
	Through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Government makes funding available to ensure the supply of language courses. HEFCE also provides support for students wishing to spend a year of their studies abroad, including through the Erasmus scheme.

Business: Co-operation

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will respond to the recommendations of the British Chambers of Commerce Skills and Employment Manifesto.

Matthew Hancock: I very much welcome the contribution of the British Chambers of Commerce to the development of long-term solutions to increasing the skills of the workforce. I would be pleased to discuss the ideas set out in their Skills and Employment Manifesto when we meet in May this year.

Business: Co-operation

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote greater communication between the chambers of commerce, businesses, schools and universities.

Matthew Hancock: Growth hubs are being established by local partners to join up public and private business support, giving businesses a single place to go for assistance in each area. Government supports the establishment of growth hubs, driven by local partners including Local Enterprise Partnerships. Other local partners involved include universities, business schools, Chambers of Commerce, and the Federation of Small Businesses.

Business: Floods

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the number of businesses affected by recent flooding.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I am giving to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) today to parliamentary question 186806.

Business: Government Assistance

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to extending access to the Business Support Scheme to those coastal and fishing businesses affected by the winter storms.

Matthew Hancock: The £10 million Business Support Scheme is a business hardship fund to help those businesses most hard hit by this winter's flooding, both as a result of tidal surge and exceptional rainfall. The scheme will be administered by local authorities and it is they who will take decisions about which businesses receive funding. Our guidance to local authorities makes it clear that they should provide support to those businesses in flood-affected areas that have suffered either:
	direct flood damage to premises, equipment and/or stock, or
	those businesses that have suffered significant loss of business as a result of being denied access to their premises, equipment and/or stock and loss of supplies and customers.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Jennifer Willott: BIS is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all. It operates a delegated recruitment model and does not centrally collate details of promotions.

EU External Trade

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what comparative assessment he has made of the merits of the (a) investor-state dispute settlement contained in Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and (b) Court of Justice of the European Union as a mechanism for settling investor-state disputes involving EU member states.

Michael Fallon: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations are still at an early stage. No text has yet been proposed concerning investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). It is expected that draft provisions will be published by the European Commission in March 2014 as part of its public consultation on the merits of including ISDS provisions in TTIP.
	The Government has commissioned academic research to assist it to assess the costs and benefits of including ISDS provisions in TTIP. A copy of this research is available in the Libraries of the House. As part of assessing the case for including ISDS provisions in TTIP, the Government will continue to consider the other remedies that may be available to US investors and the fora in which they may be pursued. The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in disputes between investors and states is most likely to be restricted to cases where the dispute relates to a point of EU law.

EU External Trade: USA

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect in the UK of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on (a) regulations on hydraulic fracturing, (b) the use of genetically modified crops and (c) price controls on pharmaceutical drugs.

Michael Fallon: In regulating hydraulic fracturing, as with other regulation for oil and gas, the UK seeks to reflect best international practice. The UK has long experience in regulating onshore oil and gas and a robust regulatory framework. Negotiations are at an early stage but we think it unlikely that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will have any effect on regulation of shale gas activities in the UK or in the EU as a whole. Any regulation changes would be through normal processes. Nevertheless, we hope that the TTIP negotiations will help facilitate access to US exports of gas for the EU including, of course, for the UK.
	It is too early in the TTIP negotiations to assess the likely impact in relation to GM crops. The main issue for consideration is the fact that the EU takes longer to authorise the import of GM crops as commodities for food and feed use than the USA takes to clear them for marketing. This has the potential to disrupt trade in both GM and conventional agricultural commodities.
	Certain previous trade agreements outline a number of high-level principles in relation to arrangements for controlling the prices of medicines, including transparency of pricing, timely and meaningful communication of decisions and disclosure of determination criteria and methodologies. At this stage we do not expect the TTIP to include any additional obligations in this area.

EU External Trade: USA

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the regulatory harmonisation in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on regulatory standards in the EU.

Michael Fallon: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could add as much as £10 billion annually to the UK economy in the long-term. Over half of the projected benefits from TTIP will come from more closely aligning the regulations of the EU and US. This could be through mutual recognition, convergence between legislation, use of international standards, and alignment of future regulations. This should be of particular benefit to small and medium-sized enterprises who find existing barriers most difficult to overcome-for example the costs of having their products checked in both EU and US markets. Consumers should benefit from cheaper and wider range of goods and services.
	Both the EU and US have committed to maintaining levels of protection that we already have. The aim is to reduce the levels of duplication that businesses have to go through, rather than reduce high regulatory standards. Both sides continue to discuss how this will be delivered.

EU Grants and Loans: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the consequence for Liverpool's EU funding allocation of the decision in Rotherham metropolitan borough council and Others v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 28 February 2014
	On 7 February 2014 the High Court ruled on the legal challenge bought by local councils broadly representing the Liverpool and Sheffield city regions to the Government's methodology in allocating European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund in the UK. The Court dismissed the claim in relation to all substantive grounds, which include the challenge to the Government's methodology for the allocation of the funds. Nevertheless, the Government's decisions on these allocations have been quashed on the sole ground that BIS had not met its public sector equality duty as part of the decision-making process.
	The Government will work as quickly as possible to reconsider the EU Structural Funds allocations in the context of its public sector equality duty. We will then focus on negotiating the detailed programming arrangements with the European Commission so that spending can start as soon as possible in 2014.

EU Law

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Regulatory Co-operation Council provided for in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will have a right to override national and EU-level legislation.

Michael Fallon: Over half of the projected economic benefits of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) come from more closely aligning the regulatory frameworks of the EU and the US to reduce business compliance costs. The negotiations between the EU and the US on this issue are at an early stage, but have already covered particular sectors, as well as horizontal disciplines to apply to all sectors. The Commission's initial proposals have included a Regulatory Co-operation Council to co-ordinate all of the regulatory activity, and at this stage are not proposing that this body should have a right to override national and EU-level legislation.

Industry

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the creation of industry councils based on the model of the Automotive Council for each of the industrial strategy sectors identified by his Department.

Michael Fallon: We have established Sector Councils (where they did not already exist) for each of the 11 sectors. Each Council brings together industry representatives from across the sector and Government officials and operates in a way that best suits their individual needs.

New Businesses: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of successful applicants to the start-up loans scheme in Essex are based in Chelmsford constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 28 February 2014
	Following are the number and value of the start-up loans drawn down by applicants in (a) Essex and (b) West Chelmsford. This is since lending began in September 2012.
	
		
			  Number of loans Value (£) 
			 Essex 216 1,221,805 
			 West Chelmsford 16 88,745 
		
	
	Of all the loans drawn down in Essex, 7% were made to applicants in West Chelmsford.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Jennifer Willott: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not directly operate a work place nursery, nor does it operate via a third party on any of its BIS sites.

Public Houses

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the case for an independent adjudicator for pubs and pub companies.

Jennifer Willott: In last year's consultation, the Government proposed the introduction of a statutory code of practice and an independent adjudicator to enforce the code to govern the relationship between pub owning companies and their tenants. We received over 1,110 written responses to the consultation and over 7,000 responses to the online survey, which we published in December last year. We are considering the evidence carefully to ensure that intervention is both proportionate and targeted and that includes consideration of the case for an adjudicator. The Government intends to publish a response to the consultation as soon as we can.

Regional Growth Fund

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the report by the National Audit Office entitled Progress Report on the Regional Growth Fund, published on 25 February 2014, for what reason the majority of the Regional Growth Fund is unspent; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: £917 million of the £2.6 billion funding allocated in the first four bidding rounds has been paid to Regional Growth Fund (RGF) projects or programmes.
	Of this amount, about £326 million is currently with programme beneficiaries who have received endowments and are running a range of schemes mainly aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises. Because the schemes run over a period of years, we would not expect all the money they were given to have been defrayed as yet.
	It is expected that further claims totalling £194 million will be paid in March 2014 and the remaining funds (£1.5 billion) are budgeted to be drawn down during 2014-15 and 2015-16 in line with the agreed budget allocations for the RGF.
	As the majority of funds for each project are provided or sourced by the applicant rather than from RGF grant, project expenditure can commence as soon as each Offer Letter is signed. Each successful applicant agrees a schedule for payment of grant that matches the milestones and time frame of their proposal.

Secondment

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff in his Department have been part of an (a) inward and (b) outward secondment to businesses or other industry groups in each of the last three years.

Jennifer Willott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 January 2014, Official Report, columns 614-15W.

Skills Funding Agency

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the Skills Funding Agency budget in each (a) constituent part of the UK, (b) region and (c) local authority area is per head of population.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 February 2014, Official Report, column 500W, in which I provided a link to the Skills Funding Statement document.

Students: Loans

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of (a) all students and (b) students from a Muslim background have taken up student loan finance in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of students eligible to receive student loan finance who are from a Muslim background.

David Willetts: Figures on the take-up of student loans are published by the Student Loans Company and rely on estimates of the eligible population derived from data collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Estimates of take-up for the years up to and including 2011/12 were published in the Statistical First Release "Student Support for Higher Education in England, Academic Year 2013/14" on 28 November 2013. Data on student loan take-up by religious affiliation is not held by the Student Loans Company.
	Data on religious affiliation was collected by HESA for the first time in 2012/13. It was introduced to allow HEIs to monitor their obligations under the Equality Act 2010. The field is not compulsory and was not intended for any onwards use.
	The latest figures on student support were published in the Statistical First Release "Student Support for Higher Education in England, Academic Year 2013/14" on 28 November 2013.

Students: Loans

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Federation of Student Islamic Societies on interest-bearing student loan finance.

David Willetts: There have been no recent discussions with the Federation of Student Islamic Societies on interest-bearing student loan finance.

Young People: Employment

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will adopt the proposal recommended in the British Chambers of Commerce Skills and Employment Manifesto for government to work with the Chambers of Commerce and local bodies to provide greater employment opportunities and work experience for young people.

Matthew Hancock: The Government's Inspiration Vision is a call to employers to inspire young people about the world of work, and I welcome the support of the British Chambers of Commerce in helping us implement the vision. The Government launched traineeships to support young people to become ready for apprenticeships and other jobs. The programme includes work experience and work preparation. Our flexible model is based in part on a project set up by St Helens Chamber of Commerce and we encourage other chambers to follow that example.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of changes in the number of animals used in scientific research as a result of the measures published in Working to Reduce the Use of Animals in Scientific Research.

Norman Baker: I am committed to reducing the use of animals in research and the Delivery Plan shows how alternative methods can deliver fast, high quality research that also boosts economic growth. The scientific case for developing new techniques that do not require the use of animals is as strong as the moral one. The Delivery Plan is our starting point for the future and it will pave the way for future practice, both at home and abroad, and will cement the UK's place as an international leader in this field.
	The Coalition Commitment to work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research is not concerned with just baseline numbers, but encompasses replacement, refinement and reduction (3Rs) more broadly, putting them at the heart of a science led approach.

Animals: Smuggling

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that live animals seized by the UK Border Force are correctly and safely re-homed.

James Brokenshire: Seized CITES protected animals are held at Heathrow's Animal Reception Centre pending re-homing. This is a secure facility and animals are under the care of local authority vets throughout their stay.
	For very rare animal species Border Force takes advice from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, (Scientific advisers to the UK CITES Management Authority), on whether they can be re-homed by being placed in established breeding programmes world wide or repatriated to their country of origin.
	For those of lesser rarity Border Force organises re-homing through approved and vetted zoological institutions and reptile and bird societies following completion of security checks. In all cases Border Force ensures there is signed agreement with the re-homing organisation setting out the conditions that apply to all seized animals as these remain the property of the Crown Property. These stipulate that:
	seized animals may not be sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of without the agreement of the Home Office and must be returned if requested;
	the Home Office reserves the right to seek confirmation that an animal remains with the holder at any time and that the re-homing conditions are being met; and,
	no commercial breeding or trading is permitted.
	Border Force is responsible for seizing live animals listed as endangered species under Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora which implements the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the EU.

Asylum

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to minimise the amount being spent on processing asylum claims.

James Brokenshire: The cost of processing asylum claims has reduced year-on-year since 2010-11.
	The Asylum Casework Directorate is making further improvements to the system with an internal change programme. This will involve standardising and streamlining casework processes (routing cases more effectively, quicker interviews, simple and more concise decisions, etc) across all offices to enable quicker decisions for asylum claimants, while maintaining the quality of decision making.

Asylum: Syria

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of potential logistical difficulties facing refugees from the Syrian conflict applying for asylum in the UK.

James Brokenshire: The United Kingdom has a proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it and we will give the most careful consideration to applications by Syrian nationals seeking asylum in the UK. But we cannot undertake to consider requests for asylum from Syrians who have taken refuge in neighbouring countries and it is not our practice to grant visas or to in any other way facilitate the arrival in the UK of foreign nationals for the purpose of seeking asylum.
	However, given the continuation of the Syrian crisis, the Government has launched the Syrian Vulnerable Person Relocation (VPR) scheme to provide sanctuary in the UK for particularly vulnerable displaced Syrians who are most at risk, prioritising survivors of torture and violence, and women and children at risk or in need of medical care. We are working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to identify the most vulnerable refugees, and with partners including local authorities to ensure we can provide the specific support vulnerable individuals need when they arrive in the UK.

Asylum: Syria

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on whether the Syrian conflict is an exceptional situation in relation to asylum and refugee applications.

James Brokenshire: There are now more than 11 million Syrians in desperate need of humanitarian assistance; including six and a half million people displaced inside Syria and more than 2.5 million refugees in neighbouring countries—at least half of them children.
	This is why the Government’s response to the Syria humanitarian crisis has been on an unprecedented scale. We have committed over £600 million to help those affected by the conflict. It will provide support including food, medical care and relief items for over a million people including those affected by the fighting in Syria and to refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. We believe this approach will have the greatest impact on refugees in the regions.
	The Government also introduced a new Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme in January. The programme will focus on individual cases where evacuation from the region is the only option. In particular, we will prioritise help for survivors of torture and violence, and women and children at risk or in need of medical care who are recommended to us for relocation by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
	Otherwise, we continue to consider all Syrian applications for asylum on a case-by-case basis in line with our international obligations.

Borders: Personal Records

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to her Department is of legal expenses arising from arbitration between the Home Office and Raytheon relating to the e-Borders programmes to date.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 28 February 2014
	The final cost of legal fees in connection with the arbitration will not be determined until the conclusion of the process at which time this information will be disclosed.

Borders: Personal Records

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the process of arbitration between her Department and Raytheon relating to the e-Borders programme to be completed.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 28 February 2014
	The dispute with Raytheon Systems Ltd is the subject of arbitration. We have recently entered the decision phase and we anticipate, in view of the complexity of the case, that this may take some months to conclude.

Buildings

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the office space owned or leased by her Department is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail value is of all such unused office space; and if she will place in the Library a copy of her most recent departmental real estate valuation.

Karen Bradley: 0.26% of the Home Office estate is not in regular use with an estimated rental value of approximately £100,000 per annum. It is all leased with no retail value and has been declared surplus for disposal. A single departmental real estate valuation is not held. However, based on individual valuation reports, the current book value of the estate including leases held on balance sheet is £394.5 million. This omits the 2 Marsham street PFI contract and assets owned by sponsored non-departmental public bodies.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office introduced standard audited corporate workforce reporting from March 2009 so information is available only for the four financial years from 2009-10 to 2012-13. Information for the current financial year (2013-14) will not be available until mid-April 2014.
	The proportion of civil servants in Home Office promoted in the four financial years from 2009-10 to 2012-13 who were (a) male and (b)female is shown in Table 1.
	The proportion of civil servants in Home Office promoted in the four financial years from 2009-10 to 2012-13 who were (a) white and (b)minority ethnic is shown in Table 2.
	The proportion of civil servants in Home Office promoted in the four financial years from 2009-10 to 2012-13 who were (a) disabled and (b)non-disabled is shown in Table 3.
	
		
			 Table 1: Proportion of promoted civil servants who were (a) male and (b) female 
			 Percentage 
			 Financial year (a) Male (b) Female 
			 2009-10 44 56 
			 2010-11 51 49 
			 2011-12 53 47 
			 2012-13 51 49 
			 Periods covered: 2009-10: 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. 2010-11: 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. 2011-12: 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. 2012-13: 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013. Extraction dates: 2009-10: 1 April 2010. 2010-11: 1 April 2011. 2011-12: 1 April 2012. 2012-13: 1 April 2013. Organisational coverage: Figures include Core Home Office (including UK Visas & Immigration, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force) and the Executive Agencies; Her Majesty's Passport Office and, from 2011-12 onwards, the National Fraud Authority. Figures for 2009-10 to 2011-12 also include the Criminal Records Bureau, which was an executive agency of the Home Office during that period. Employee coverage: Data is based on headcount of all paid and unpaid civil servants, who were promoted within the Home Office during each period. Some employees will have also joined the Home Office on promotion during the period, but we are unable to report on this as we do not know the grades of employees from their previous Department. For context, the proportion of (a) male (b) female employees (current, paid civil servants as at 31 March) for each year is shown in the following table. As the proportions of promotions are worked out across the whole of the financial year, the two tables are not directly comparable, and these figures are provided for information only. Data source: Data View—the Home Office's single source of Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate Human Resources data. 
		
	
	
		
			 Proportion of current paid civil servants who were (a) male and (b) female 
			 Percentage 
			  (a) Male (b) Female 
			 March   
			 2010 44 56 
			 2011 46 54 
			 2012 48 52 
			 2013 48 52 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Proportion of promoted civil servants who were (a) white and (b) minority ethnic 
			 Percentage 
			 Financial year (a) White (b) Minority ethnic 
			 2009-10 79 21 
			 2010-11 78 22 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 75 25 
			 2012-13 76 24 
			 Periods covered: 2009-10: 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. 2010-11: 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. 2011-12: 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. 2012-13: 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013. Extraction dates: 2009-10: 1 April 2010. 2010-11: 1 April 2011. 2011-12: 1 April 2012. 2012-13: 1 April 2013. Organisational coverage: Figures include Core Home Office (including UK Visas & Immigration, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force) and the executive agencies; Her Majesty's Passport Office and, from 2011-12 onwards, the National Fraud Authority. Figures for 2009-10 to 2011-12 also include the Criminal Records Bureau, which was an executive agency of the Home Office during that period. Employee coverage: Data is based on headcount of all paid and unpaid civil servants, who were promoted within the Home Office during each period and made a positive declaration as to their ethnicity. Some employees will have also joined the Home Office on promotion during the period, but we are unable to report on this as we do not know the grades of employees from their previous Department. For context, the proportion of (a) white and (b) minority ethnic employees (current, paid civil servants as at 31 March) for each year is shown in the following table. As the proportions of promotions are worked out across the whole of the financial year, the two tables are not directly comparable, and these figures are provided for information only. Data source: Data View—the Home Office's single source of Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate Human Resources data. 
		
	
	
		
			 Proportion of current paid civil servants who were (a) white and (b) minority ethnic 
			 Percentage 
			  (a) White (b) Minority ethnic 
			 March   
			 2010 75 25 
			 2011 77 23 
			 2012 77 23 
			 2013 77 23 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Proportion of promoted civil servants who were (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled 
			 Percentage 
			 Financial year (a) Disabled (b) Non-disabled 
			 2009-10 4 96 
			 2010-11 5 95 
			 2011-12 3 97 
			 2012-13 5 95 
			 Periods covered: 2009-10: 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. 2010-11: 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. 2011-12: 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. 2012-13: 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013. Extraction dates: 2009-10: 1 April 2010. 2010-11: 1 April 2011. 2011-12: 1 April 2012. 2012-13: 1 April 2013. Organisational coverage: Figures include Core Home Office (including UK Visas & Immigration, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force) and the executive agencies; Her Majesty's Passport Office and, from 2011-12 onwards, the National Fraud Authority. Figures for 2009-10 to 2011-12 also include the Criminal Records Bureau, which was an executive agency of the Home office during that period. Employee coverage: Data is based on headcount of all paid and unpaid civil servants, who were promoted within the Home Office during each period, and made a positive declaration as to their disability. Some employees will have also joined the Home Office on promotion during the period, but we are unable to report on this as we do not know the grades of employees from their previous Department. For context, the proportion of (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled employees (current, paid civil servants as at 31 March) for each year is shown in the following table. As the proportions of promotions are worked out across the whole of the financial year, the two tables are not directly comparable, and these figures are provided for information only. Data source: Data View—the Home Office's single source of Office for National Statistics compliant monthly snapshot corporate Human Resources data. 
		
	
	
		
			 Proportion of current paid civil servants who were (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled 
			 Percentage 
			  (a) Disabled (b) Non-disabled 
			 March   
			 2010 7 93 
			 2011 7 93 
			 2012 7 93 
			 2013 9 91

Crime

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the use of the Self Evident app to facilitate crime reporting by victims and evidence submissions by witnesses to the police.

Damian Green: Forces are responsible for their IT locally and it is the decision of individual chief constables and police and crime commissioners to deploy or promote the apps they think will be of most benefit to operational policing in their local area. The Home Office supports this approach and we are working with national policing partners to define information standards which will help developers create apps and software that can operate with police systems.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many publications her Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office produces a discrete publication, known as the annual Employment Monitoring Report, for the purposes of monitoring and promoting staff equality and diversity in line with its legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
	Reports are available for each of the last four financial years (2008-/09 onwards) on gov.uk.
	The cost of producing this publication is not recorded centrally and estimates could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. This is because each annual publication contains a different level of information, some of which is also contained in other statistical and Transparency Agenda products (and these are not produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity).

Fraud

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fraud crimes are (a) reported and (b) investigated in each police force area in the UK annually; and how many convictions for fraud there were in the UK in the last year for which data is available.

Karen Bradley: In the year ending September 2013, 201,035 fraud offences were recorded by the police or Action Fraud in England and Wales. Since 1 April 2013, fraud offences previously recorded by individual police forces have been recorded centrally by Action Fraud. Where a victim contacts the police to report a fraud offence, they will be advised to report it to Action Fraud. This transfer of responsibility had a phased introduction from April 2011 and it is not possible to disaggregate Action Fraud data to police force areas on a consistent basis.
	The Home Office does not hold information centrally on the number of fraud investigations in each police force area.
	According to Ministry of Justice figures, in 2012 15,862 defendants were proceeded against for fraud offences at magistrates courts in England and Wales and 12,380 were found guilty.
	Crime and justice statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the relevant devolved Administration.

Fraud

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make an estimate of the number of economic and fraud crimes reported in the last 10 years that remain un-investigated in each police area due to resource constraints or a lack of suitably-qualified personnel.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally.

Immigration: Appeals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to ensure her Department's officials are present in all court appeals relating to cases where a person has been refused leave to remain in the UK.

James Brokenshire: Since 2012, Home Office representation at appeal hearings has increased through the recruitment of staff and the use of barristers.
	We have also increased the number of occasions per week each presenting officer spends in court, as well as deploying presenting officers flexibly across the various regional courts to ensure the maximum number of appeal hearings across the UK are represented. Furthermore, we continue to make every effort to ensure that only appropriate cases go before the courts, in order to improve representation and productivity and to promote a more efficient appeals system.
	The latest published statistics on representation rates appear in our report to the Home Affairs Select Committee, which can be found at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/home-affairs/Home%20Office%20Immigration%20Directorates %20written%20evidence.pdf
	These show that in the third quarter of 2013 representation at the first-tier tribunal stood at 98% and representation at the upper tribunal was 100%.

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal offences by foreign born nationals were recorded in the London Borough of Havering in 2013.

Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database does not record the nationality of offenders sentenced for criminal offences.
	All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
	Reducing the FNO population is a top priority for this Government. We are working hard to reduce the flow of FNOs into our prison system and increase the number of FNOs removed from the UK through prisoner transfer agreements (PTAs); the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS).

Police: Complaints

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many of the Independent Police Complaints Commission's investigations have been appeals after decisions by the local force in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many of the deaths identified by the Independent Police Complaints Commission as restraint-related have involved people with mental health issues in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: This information is not held centrally. The Independent Police Complaints Commission will write to my hon. Friend and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

UK Visas and Immigration

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to appoint a permanent Director General for Visas and Immigration.

James Brokenshire: We expect to announce the new director general of UK Visas and Immigration imminently.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of abolishing Air Passenger Duty bands D and C and moving all countries in these bands into Air Passenger Duty band B.

Nicky Morgan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 5 December 2013, Official Report, column 757W.
	The hon. Member should note that the Chancellor keeps all taxes under review as part of the ongoing Budget process.

Banks: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the head of the Financial Conduct Authority on the number of people employed at the headquarters of those banks and financial services providers registered in Scotland and the number of jobs which have a direct or indirect connection to the headquartering of the banks and other financial services providers in Scotland.

Sajid Javid: Approximately 100,000 people are directly employed in the financial sector in Scotland and another 100,000 indirectly employed in related professional services. Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Capital Gains Tax

Julie Hilling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many residences valued at over (a) £1 million, (b) £1.5 million, (c) £2 million, (d) £2.5 million, (e) £3 million, (f) £3.5 million, (g) £4 million, (h) £4.5 million and (i) £5 million was capital gains tax paid in each year since 2010.

David Gauke: Estimates of the number of disposals of residential property (land and buildings) by taxpayers with a capital gains liability in 2010-11, the latest year data is available, are given in the following table:
	
		
			 Value of disposal Estimated number 
			 Over £1 million 1,200 
			 Of which over £1.5 million 900 
			 Of which over £2 million 500 
			 Of which over £3 million 300 
			 Of which over £5 million 200 
		
	
	This data is from a survey. On the grounds of statistical reliability there are insufficient numbers of sample cases in some residence disposal value ranges for which estimated numbers could be deduced to provide all the ranges requested.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish the Government’s response to his Department’s consultation on tax-free childcare.

Nicky Morgan: The Government will publish its response to the tax-free child care consultation in due course.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish an impact assessment for tax-free childcare.

Nicky Morgan: The impact assessment for Tax-Free Childcare will be published when legislation is laid before Parliament, in due course.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, columns 27-28W, on children: day care, by what method his Department has determined the estimated breakdown of basic and higher or additional rate taxpayers in receipt of employer-supported childcare vouchers.

Nicky Morgan: The breakdown by tax rate is estimated using the reported income of families in the Family Resources Survey who had also indicated they received child care vouchers from an employer.

Defence: Procurement

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reach agreement with the Ministry of Defence on changes to civil service pay and conditions as part of the DE and S plus model for defence procurement; and if he will publish the details of such an arrangement.

Danny Alexander: Details on the new Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisational structure are planned to be published in April. Further details on pay and conditions will be released in due course.

Diesel Fuel: Theft

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the rural economy of red diesel theft in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many vehicles have been stopped for red diesel theft in each of the last three years.

Nicky Morgan: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. HMRC have also recently announced a new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.
	No specific assessment has been made of the cost to the rural economy of red diesel theft. However, tax gap figures published in the document at the following link give estimates of revenue lost to illicit fuel use in the UK:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/mtg-2013.pdf
	No assessment has been made of vehicles stopped specifically for red diesel theft, and such thefts would be a matter for the police. HMRC is committed to combating all aspects of fuel fraud; and this is shown by the total number of vehicles challenged for suspected misuse of all types by their road fuel testing units in the last three years, as highlighted in the following table:
	
		
			 Total vehicle stops 
			  Number 
			 2011-12 48,757 
			 2012-13 45,305 
			 2013-14 (April 2013 to February 2014) 42,216

Driving: Insurance

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the prevalence of non-reporting of trading figures for car insurance by motor insurance companies; and whether he has assessed if this is in breach of International Financial Reporting Standards 8, Operating Segments.

Jennifer Willott: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The appropriate regulatory bodies, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Reporting Council, are not aware of any issues by this business sector. There is no specific requirement for insurance companies to identify separately their car insurance trading figures in financial statements.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many EU directives his Department has transposed into UK law since 2010; and how many directly acting EU regulations have come into effect in his Department's area of responsibility in the same period.

Nicky Morgan: The Department does not hold a central record of the EU directives it has transposed into UK law since 2010 and also does not hold a central record of all directly applicable EU regulations coming into effect since 2010. Details of all current European legislation are on the Euro-Lex website:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/legis/latest/index.htm

Excise Duties: Fuels

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, columns 433-34W, on excise duties: fuel, what the evidential basis was for his statement that liquified petroleum gas is not as environmentally beneficial as natural gas; and on what dates the underlying data were compiled.

Nicky Morgan: The reduction of the LPG differential by 1 ppl per year is a continuation of the approach set out by the previous Administration, following their recommendation in the 2003 alternative fuels framework. However, as this Government has frozen fuel duty until the end of Parliament, the LPG differential also remains frozen, and is not currently closing by 1 ppl per year. The Government will review the taxation of all road fuel gases in 2018, along with vehicle take up and the impact of the differential on the public finances.

Limited Liability

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the effect of limited liability partnerships on levels of organised crime.

David Gauke: Under the 2013 UK presidency of the G8, the Prime Minister committed to action to prevent the misuse of companies and other legal arrangements. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) published the ‘Trust and Transparency’ discussion paper for consultation last year, setting out proposals to improve company transparency; the consultation period has now closed and a full Government response is expected shortly.
	Information from law enforcement agencies and others is supporting this work. Any assessment of the effect of LLPs on levels of organised crime is a matter for the Home Office.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Nicky Morgan: Please find following table showing the information as requested.
	
		
			   Percentage 
			  Staff on maternity leave Returned to work Still employed six months after returning Still employed 12 months after returning 
			 2008-09 19 100.0 100.0 94.7 
			 2009-10 29 100.0 96.6 93.1 
			 2010-11 22 100.0 100.0 95.5 
			 2011-12 25 100.0 84.0 84.0 
			 2012-13 32 100.0 96.9 96.9 
		
	
	These data are for staff employed by HM Treasury. We have no records on how long they remain in the civil service once they leave employment in this Department.

Minimum Wage

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to collect information on the number of employers who are not compliant with national minimum wage legislation at constituency level.

Jennifer Willott: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigate every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights helpline. In addition, HMRC conducts risk-based enforcement in sectors or areas where there is a higher risk of workers not getting paid the legal minimum wage.
	HMRC does not keep statistics at constituency level and collecting information on the number of employers who are not compliant at a constituency level would be very resource intensive.

New Businesses: Females

Guy Opperman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what support his Department is giving to women who want to set up businesses.

Nicky Morgan: The Government has committed to making the UK one of the best places in Europe to start, finance and grow a business. The Government has taken a number of steps to achieve this objective: cutting the main rate of corporation tax from 28% in 2010 to 20% by 2015—the lowest in the G20; extending the doubling of small business rates relief (SBRR) for a further year from 1 April 2014, reducing the cost by an average of £800 per annum for over 500,000 businesses; and introducing a new £2,000 employment allowance for small business and charities, from April 2013, to reduce their employer national insurance bills.
	The UK now has the second highest rate of early stage entrepreneurial activity in the G7. The Government wants to ensure that this success is shared equally across genders; this was a key driver for the setting up of the Women's Business Council in 2012 and the publication of an action plan, in November 2013, on supporting women in business.
	Access to finance is being improved through, among other things, the creation of the British Business Bank. In addition, the autumn statement announced a doubling of funding to the Government Start Up Loans scheme. A third of individuals who have received loans and mentoring to set up businesses are female, significantly higher than the 18% of women that currently head up a business.
	The Government has also identified and trained 15,000 new mentors to support those setting up a business, including 5,000 specifically for new and existing female entrepreneurs.
	From autumn 2015, tax-free child care will be introduced for working parents, providing up to £1200 per child per year. This will help many women overcome what can be a significant obstacle to setting up a business.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (a) 5 May 2010 and (b) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Nicky Morgan: HM Treasury did not have a workplace nursery on its property at 5 May 2010 or on 5 February 2014.

Rent a Room Scheme

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people claimed relief under the Rent-A-Room scheme in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost to the public purse of such relief has been.

David Gauke: Individuals with rental income below the level of the rent-a-room tax-free threshold (£4,250) do not need to claim the relief. They simply do not declare these earnings. For this reason, it is not possible to quantify the take-up.
	HMRC have published the estimated cost of the relief for 2012-13 and 2013-14 at £90 million per annum. These figures are particularly tentative and subject to a wide margin of error for the same reason.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Julie Hilling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many transactions over the value of (a) £1 million, (b) £1.5 million, (c) £2 million, (d) £2.5 million, (e) £3 million, (f) £3.5 million, (g) £4 million, (h) £4.5 million and (i) £5 million was stamp duty land tax paid in each year since 2010.

Nicky Morgan: An analysis of annual (calendar year) property transactions by type of property and range of price is published annually in the publication 'Annual UK Property Transactions Statistics'. The latest release can be found at this link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-uk-property-transactions-statistics-2013

Stocks and Shares

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with UK and EU financial regulators about the regulation of high frequency trading.

Sajid Javid: EU member states have recently reached an agreement on the review of the markets in financial of instruments directive (MiFID), which should shortly pass into law. This legislation will comprehensively regulate high frequency trading. The Government, in close consultation with the Financial Conduct Authority, has been heavily engaged throughout the course of the negotiation of MiFID.

Stocks and Shares

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the potential systemic and operational risks of high frequency trading.

Sajid Javid: The findings of the Foresight project “The Future of Computer Trading In Financial Markets,” led by the Government Office for Science and sponsored by the Treasury, was published in autumn 2012. This independent and international study involved 150 leading experts and considered, inter alia, the impact of computer trading on the integrity of markets and financial stability.

Tax Avoidance

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of enforcement of the IR35 rules since 2010.

David Gauke: It is estimated that the current cost of the specialist compliance teams administering IR35 is approximately £700,000 per annum. Since April 2011, HMRC has restructured progressively the organisation and number of staff administering IR35. HMRC has no estimate of cost other than the current cost.

VAT

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the net effect in (a) cash terms and (b) as a proportion of the average annual income of the 2.5 per cent increase in the standard rate of value added tax to 20 per cent on (i) pensioner couples, (ii) single pensioners, (iii) couples with children and (iv) single parents with children;
	(2)  if he will estimate how much more value added tax a couple with two children, earning £20,000 a year, have paid in (a) cash terms and (b) as a proportion of their household income following the increase in the standard rate of value added tax to 20 per cent.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) on 12 February 2014, Official Report, columns 642-43W.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Trapping

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Livingston, of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 389W, on animal welfare: trapping, if he will consider bringing forward legislative proposals to put code of practice on the use of snares on a statutory basis or offer otherwise to amend it to improve compliance.

George Eustice: We have no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to put the DEFRA code of practice on the use of snares on a statutory basis. My colleague Lord de Mauley has had discussions with key stakeholders with the aim of improving compliance. As part of this we propose to work with stakeholders to update the code shortly.

Butterflies

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the recent increase in butterfly numbers; and what steps he plans to take to further increase the number of butterflies.

George Eustice: Early indications from surveys in 2013 suggest that butterfly numbers were substantially higher than in 2012. This is largely a response to the warm, dry weather conditions last summer, just as the low numbers in 2012 were a response to cooler, wetter conditions. Longer term changes in butterfly numbers are reported in our biodiversity indicator suite which we publish annually.
	We are taking a number of steps to increase butterfly numbers. We have an extensive network of protected sites and have established 12 Nature Improvement Areas which aim to restore and connect habitats at a landscape scale. We have encouraged others to adopt this approach voluntarily.
	Our agri-environment scheme, Environmental Stewardship, provides incentives for a range of habitat management and creation options on farmland. Our statutory advisory body, Natural England, is working with Butterfly Conservation, an environmental NGO, to support the Farmland Butterfly Initiative. This aims to increase the effectiveness of agri-environment schemes further though improved targeting of management and advice.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Dan Rogerson: The following table shows the diversity breakdown of staff promoted in core DEFRA in each of the last four financial years.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Year ending31 March Male Female White Ethnic minority Disabled Non-disabled 
			 2010 42.3 57.7 91.4 8.6 2.1 97.9 
			 2011 48.3 51.7 100.0 0.0 15.8 84.2 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 60.0 40.0 93.7 6.3 3.9 96.1 
			 2013 48 52 93 7 6 94 
		
	
	Data for the year ending 31 March 2009 are not available.
	We are unable to analyse ethnicity and nationality data together and therefore cannot provide the white British data requested.

Criminal Investigation

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which organisation his Department and its subsidiary bodies use to tackle internal instances of crime, including corruption and fraud; and whether he has designated this organisation or any individual within it to grant authorisation for carrying out directed surveillance under section 28 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA, its executive agencies and NDPBs select appropriate staff to undertake the initial investigation into suspected instances of internal crime, including corruption and fraud. These individuals are from internal functions including Internal Audit and DEFRA Investigation Services (whose main remit is to investigate breaches of DEFRA's regulations by external parties).
	There are a number of staff trained to authorise directed surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) as prescribed by this legislation, principally for the investigation of external breaches of DEFRA regulations (which may include criminal breaches) rather than for internal investigations. Ministers are not involved in this process which is overseen by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners.

Floods

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration he has given to extending access to the (a) Farming Recovery Fund and (b) Repair and Renew scheme to those coastal and fishing businesses affected by the winter storms.

George Eustice: Following the Prime Minister's announcement on 20 February of the Repair and Renew Grant, help will be available for people and businesses whose properties have suffered internal damage from flooding (but not from storms) since the beginning of December 2013. The grant of up to £5,000 will contribute towards improvements to the fabric of their property or premises that would help reduce the impact and cost of any subsequent flooding. The scheme, which only applies to England, opens on 1 April 2014.
	The Government's £10 million Farming Recovery Fund is for farm businesses. It will help them to restore flooded agricultural land and bring it back into production as quickly as possible. It will not be extended to coastal and fishing businesses.
	Further options are being considered to help fishermen affected by storms.

Floods: Business

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent floods on the small business sector; what estimate he has made of the number of small businesses affected by those floods; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of an increase in serious flooding events on the small business sector.

Matthew Hancock: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Since the East Coast surge in early December 2013, over 6,480 properties have been flooded across England. We estimate that in excess of 2,000 businesses have been flooded and more will have been affected by the floods.
	The Government has announced a package of support for businesses. A £10 million business support scheme has been established and local authorities have already been advised of an initial allocation of funds. A second tranche of funding, reflecting the latest information, will be allocated in the next two weeks.
	Businesses that have been flooded since December 2013 will qualify for 100% business rate relief for three months, regardless of how long they were flooded.
	In April 2014 businesses will be able to apply for a new repair and renewal grants of up to £5,000 to contribute to work that improves a property's ability to withstand future flooding.
	In addition, the Business Support Helpline (0303 456 3565) is able to direct businesses to support available to businesses and can receive one hour of free support with a business adviser.
	HMRC and Companies House have schemes in place to support businesses that due to these exceptional conditions are unable to file their papers or pay their taxes.
	Support from non-government sources is also available, the banks have announced £750 million of support for businesses affected and the Business Exchange website
	www.greatbusinessexchange.co.uk/small-business-affected-uk-floods
	has a page to enable businesses that wish to provide help to other businesses.

Floods: Housing

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many houses that have flooded in the current financial year were built on a flood plain; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA does not hold information specifically on how many houses have been built on flood plains and flooded in the last 10 years in England, Greater London and Wales. In the case of Wales, flood risk management policy is a devolved responsibility.

Horses: Exports

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department takes to prevent horses and ponies being exported for slaughter.

George Eustice: European and domestic legislation permits the export of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption. National legislation currently prohibits the export of ponies for slaughter from GB.
	Any consignment of horses or ponies being exported from GB requires export health certification, issued by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). AHVLA has no record of issuing any export health certificates for consignments of horses where the intended purpose has been declared to be for slaughter.

Marine Conservation Zones

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with organisations representing wildfowling interest about the designation of marine conservation zones.

George Eustice: The issue of wildfowl and the designation of Marine Conservation Zones was raised with me by local representatives of the RSPB during a recent visit to the SSSI at Hayle in Cornwall. Officials have also met representatives of organisations representing wildfowling interests both individually and at stakeholder events.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Dan Rogerson: The following table shows the percentage of civil servants in core DEFRA who returned to work after taking maternity leave:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Returned to work 96.7 91.0 84.9 97.1 88.9 
			 Took a career break 1.6 9.0 4.3 2.9 11.1 
		
	
	The following table shows the percentage of civil servants in core DEFRA who were still employed in the Department (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work following maternity leave. For employees who have moved to other Departments we are unable to say how long they have stayed in the civil service, and they have been excluded from the calculations.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			      2013 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 Reached 6/12 months Not yet reached 6/12 months 
			 Employed 6 months later 96.7 95.4 92.5 97.1 50.0 48.4 
			 Employed 12 months later 96.6 89.2 92.3 97.1 19.4 79.0

Nature Conservation

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) the European Commission, (b) his European counterparts and (c) UK members of the European Parliament on European-wide counter-measures against invasive non-native species.

George Eustice: DEFRA officials have been closely involved in all stages of the negotiations on the draft EU regulation on invasive non-native species. They have attended all working party meetings in the Council of the European Union, held bilaterals with other member states and officials in the European Commission, as well as meeting key MEPs in the European Parliament, including the lead rapporteur.
	The Secretary of State also discussed this matter with the European Commission and his counterparts at the Environment Council in December 2013.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Dan Rogerson: The Department does not directly operate workplace nurseries and currently has three workplace nurseries that are operated at three sites by third parties. They are as follows:
	DEFRA—York;
	Food and Environment Research Agency—Sand Hutton; and
	Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency/Veterinary Medicines Directorate—Weybridge.
	All three nurseries were in operation in 5 May 2010 and 5 February 2014. The nurseries are expected to be in operation in 2014-15 and 2015-2016.

Rivers: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the highest proportion of discretion in the Environment Agency's budget that can be spent on routine maintenance of rivers.

Dan Rogerson: The proportion of discretionary revenue spend on routine maintenance of rivers and flood and coastal erosion assets by the Environment Agency in 2011-12 was 72%, in 2012-13 was 76% and in 2013-14 was 74%. The Environment Agency spends the rest of its Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management revenue budget on activities such as flood incident management, flood forecasting and the mapping and modelling of flood risk, as well as development control.

Squirrels: Diseases

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has commissioned into squirrel pox; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: holding answer 28 February 2014
	DEFRA has not commissioned any research into squirrel pox. However, we have recently agreed to support the Moredun Research Institute, which is undertaking research on the development of a vaccine for squirrel pox virus.

JUSTICE

Allowances: Appeals

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the total cost incurred by his Department was in appeals against benefit sanctions imposed by the Department for Work and Pensions on claimants of employment and support allowance in each year since 2010;
	(2)  what the average cost incurred by his Department is over an appeal against a decision in the Department for Work and Pensions to sanction a claimant's jobseeker's allowance; and what the total cost of dealing with all such appeals has been in each year since 2010.

Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support), administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits, including employment and support allowance (ESA) and jobseekers allowance (JSA).
	HMCTS does not record data specifically relating to appeals against sanctions imposed by DWP on ESA or JSA and does not therefore hold the information requested.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Shailesh Vara: The recently published Ministry of Justice Diversity Data Report, 2012-13, included data on promotions for the first time, with comparative data in relation to a number of protected characteristics in annexed tables.
	This data covers MoJ HQ, National Offender Management Service (NOMS), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).
	The Ministry of Justice does not however hold this information for 2008-09, 2009-10 or 2010-11 centrally as it is not available from the MoJ's legacy HR database.
	The proportions of male and female staff promoted in 2011-12 and 2012-13 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Ministry of Justice MoJ HQ, National Offender Management Service(NOMS), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) 
			 Percentage 
			  2011-12 2012-13 
			 (a) Male 46 36 
			 (b) Female 54 64 
		
	
	The calculation is the number of staff promoted in the protected characteristic as a proportion of all staff promoted in the period.
	The Ministry of Justice and its agencies are committed to ensuring that equality of opportunity is a normal part of everyday business, and that its policies are fair and accessible to all.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Shailesh Vara: The recently published Ministry of Justice Diversity Data Report, 2012-13, included data on promotions for the first time, with comparative data in relation to a number of protected characteristics in annexed tables.
	These data cover MOJ HQ, National Offender Management Service (NOMS), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).
	The Ministry of Justice does not however hold this information for 2008-09, 2009-10 or 2010-11 centrally as it is not available from the MOJ's legacy HR database.
	The comparative data in the report combine all the white sub-categories (white British, white other, white Irish, white English, white Welsh, white Scottish) and the following table, which shows the proportion of staff promoted who have declared their ethnicity as white or non white, reflects this. The proportion of staff who have not declared their ethnicity status is also included.
	
		
			 Ministry of Justice MOJ HQ, National Offender Management Service (NOMS), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) 
			 Percentage 
			  2011-12 2012-13 
			 White 71 65 
			 Non-white 15 17 
			 Undeclared 14 18 
		
	
	The calculation is the number of declared non-white staff promoted as a proportion of all staff promoted in the period.
	The Ministry of Justice and its agencies are committed to ensuring that equality of opportunity and diversity is a normal part of everyday business, and that its policies are fair and accessible to all.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Shailesh Vara: The recently published Ministry of Justice Diversity Data Report, 2012-13, included data on promotions for the first time, with comparative data in relation to a number of protected characteristics in annexed tables.
	These data cover MOJ HQ, NOMS, HMCTS and OPG. The Ministry of Justice does not however hold this information for 2008-09, 2009-10 or 2010-11 centrally, as it is not available from the MOJ's legacy HR database.
	The proportions of staff promoted who have declared themselves as ‘disabled' and 'non disabled' are shown in the following table. Also included is the proportion of staff whose disability status is 'undeclared'.
	
		
			 Ministry of Justice MOJ HQ, National Offender Management Service (NOMS), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) 
			 Percentage 
			  2011-12 2012-13 
			 Disabled 1 2 
			 Non-disabled 58 66 
			 Undeclared 41 32 
		
	
	The calculation is the number of declared disabled staff promoted as a proportion of all staff promoted in the period.
	The Ministry of Justice and its agencies are committed to ensuring that equality of opportunity and diversity is a normal part of everyday business, and that its policies are fair and accessible to all.

Civil Proceedings: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many litigants in person in private law cases have appeared in (a) Gwent civil and family and tribunals sub-clusters and (b) Wales civil and family tribunals cluster since April 2013;
	(2)  how many litigants in person in private law cases appeared in (a) Gwent civil and family and tribunals sub-cluster and (b) Wales civil and family tribunals cluster between April 2012 and April 2013.

Shailesh Vara: Family cases showing self representing applicants and respondents are published quarterly. Self-representation is determined by the field ‘legal representation' in the Ministry of Justice administrative database being left blank. Therefore, this is only a proxy measure and parties without a recorded representative are not necessarily self-representing litigants in person.
	Information for parties representation is available for family courts at a national level in table 2.4 of Court Statistics Quarterly and it is available at this link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2013
	Breaking down the parties representation figures for Wales nationally and for Gwent locally, private law disposals in Family Proceedings Courts and County Courts are as follows:
	
		
			  Wales Gwent 
			  April to March 2012-13 April to September 2013 April to March 2012-13 April to September 2013 
			 Applicant Only 1,420 1201 230 187 
			 Respondent Only 466 226 92 33 
			 Neither 339 384 70 34 
		
	
	Litigants in person are not a new phenomenon in our courts. Judges are used to helping persons with no legal representation, including explaining procedures and what is expected of them. We have taken steps to help people who either want or have to represent themselves in court, including publishing a revised guide for separating parents and increased training for judges. The link to the guide is:
	http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetLeaflet.do?court_leaflets_id=2756

Coroners

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total amount allocated to the provision of legal aid at inquest proceedings was in each of the last five years; and what the total number of such cases was in each of the last five years.

Shailesh Vara: As not all of the information requested is readily available, I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

Crimes: Convictions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people were convicted of arson in each of the last seven years; and of those how many were convicted of arson with intent;
	(2)  how many people were convicted of malicious wounding offences in each of the last seven years; and of those how many were convicted of malicious wounding with intent;
	(3)  how many people were convicted of grievous bodily harm offences in each of the last seven years; and of those how many were convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent.

Jeremy Wright: The law on criminal damage is set out in the Criminal Damage Act 1971 which makes it an offence under section 1(1) for a person intentionally or recklessly to destroy or damage property belonging to another without lawful excuse. Under section 1(2) there is an aggravated version of the offence, where the damage is intended to endanger the life of another person or the defendant is reckless as to whether the life of another would be endangered. Where the property is destroyed or damaged by fire, these offences are charged as arson (section 1(3)).
	The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for ‘arson’ offences in England and Wales from 2006 to 2012 (latest available) can be viewed in table 1.
	Between 2010 and 2012, the proportion of offenders given custody and the average custodial sentence length (months) increased for both arson offences.
	Section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 contains the offence of wounding or causing grievous bodily harm. A racially or religiously aggravated version of this offence can be found in section 29 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
	Section 18 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 contains the offence of wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with the intent to do grievous bodily harm or with the intent to resist arrest.
	The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for grievous bodily harm and malicious wounding offences in England and Wales from 2006 to 2012 (latest available) can be viewed in table 2.
	Between 2010 and 2012, the proportion of offenders given custody and the average custodial sentence length (months) increased for both offences.
	
		
			 Table 1: Defendants found guilty at all courts for ‘arson’ offences, England and Wales, 2006-121, 2 
			 Offence 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Arson with the intent to endanger life (or recklessness as to the same)3 448 471 476 497 478 497 518 
			 Arson4 1,125 1,079 1,097 964 1,000 974 836 
			 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Criminal Damage Act 1971 S.1(2) and (3). 4 Criminal Damage Act 1971 S.1(1) and (3). Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services: Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Defendants found guilty at all courts for grievous bodily harm offences, England and Wales, 2006-121, 2 
			 Statute Offence 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.18 Wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to do grievous bodily harm or resist arrest 1,553 1,733 1,661 1,676 1,737 1,783 1,665 
			 Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.20 and Crime & Disorder Act 1998 S.29 Wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm (includes the racially and religiously aggravated form of the offence) 4,338 4,515 4,415 4,789 5,002 4,486 4,030 
			 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services: Ministry of Justice.

Dartmoor Prison

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether he has given the Duchy of Cornwall notice of the decision to close Dartmoor prison;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of compliance with the notice period required by the Duchy of Cornwall for the closure of Dartmoor prison;
	(3)  what period of notice he is required to give the Duchy of Cornwall of the decision to close HMP Dartmoor.

Jeremy Wright: The physical limitations of the prison and its geographical location mean that both strategically and economically it does not have a long-term future as part of a modern prison estate. The lease for HMP Dartmoor is subject to a 10 year notice period and notice to terminate the lease was served to the Duchy of Cornwall in November 2013. However, no decision has been made on when the prison will close and therefore no estimate has been made of the cost to the Department for compliance with the notice period.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of appeals against the refusal of employment and support allowance held on Saturdays in the last year.

Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits, including employment and support allowance (ESA).
	Claimants can appeal to the Tribunal against elements of an ESA award, such as a decision on the rate of entitlement, as well as a decision to refuse ESA. HMCTS does not record data specifically relating to appeals against the refusal of ESA and does not therefore hold the information requested.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publication was in each such year.

Shailesh Vara: Over each of the last five years MOJ and our NOMS agency have published information on diversity and equality in respect of our staff and delivery of our business, and in compliance with equality legislation.
	These have comprised of annual staff diversity data reports for MOJ and NOMS, equal pay reports, an annual review of MOJ equality schemes further to earlier legislation, and MOJ equality objectives. There were 12 publications during this period, and the most recent of these can be found at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-justice-equality-information-and-objectives
	and
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/noms/equality
	The publications are produced in-house by MOJ staff at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
	The Ministry of Justice and its agencies are committed to ensuring that equality of opportunity and diversity is a normal part of everyday business, that our policies are fair and accessible to all, and the services delivered are in compliance with the aims of the public sector equality duty of the Equality Act 2010.

Freedom of Information

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Delyn, of 6 February 2014, Official Report, column 325W, on freedom of information, 
	(1)  if he will (a) compile, (b) publish and (c) maintain in the public domain a comprehensive list of companies wholly owned by more than one public authority which are covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000;
	(2)  how members of the public can find out whether a company is wholly owned by more than one public authority and covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Simon Hughes: More than 100,000 public authorities are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Whether a particular company is within the scope of the Act depends on its ownership which can change over time. To keep track of the ownership of all companies owned by public authorities in a single list would be disproportionately expensive. This information is already publicly available: members of the public can find out whether a company is wholly owned by public authorities covered by the Act by asking the company or the relevant public authorities directly, or by checking the ownership of the company with Companies House. We therefore have no current plans to compile and maintain a list of companies wholly owned by public authorities and who are thereby covered by section 6 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Glen Parva Young Offender Institution

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on the construction of Young Offender Institute Glen Parva before the project was cancelled in 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The previous Government spent £5.6 million on developing the plans for a new young offenders institution at Glen Parva up to 2010. The Pathfinder Secure College will be fundamentally different from a Young Offender's Institution, and will make use of the previous work where relevant.

Leasehold Valuation Tribunal

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make an assessment of the Leasehold Value Tribunal system; and if he will make a statement.

Shailesh Vara: In July 2011 responsibility for the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) transferred from the Department for Communities and Local Government to Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
	In July 2013 the LVT's functions in England were transferred to the Residential Property jurisdiction of the Property Chamber.
	HMCTS monitors performance across all jurisdictions in the Unified Tribunals System and publishes statistics on a quarterly basis, which can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265857/tribunal-statistics-tables-jul-sept-2013.xls#'l.l'!Al
	Statistics relating to the Residential Property Tribunals include leasehold valuation appeals.
	The Residential Property Tribunal Wales retains responsibility for the Leasehold Valuation Tribunals in Wales but presently does not publish performance data for these Tribunals on their website, although their decisions can be found here:
	http://rpt.wales.gov.uk/decisions-index/leasehold-valuation-tribunal/leasehold-valuation-tribunals-apr12-mar13/?lang=en

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Shailesh Vara: The Ministry of Justice is unable to provide the data requested without incurring disproportionate costs.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department.

Shailesh Vara: The Ministry of Justice maternity leave policy is compliant with employment legislation in providing up to 52 weeks maternity leave, regardless of the length of service and subject to providing the required notice. This applies to all permanent and fixed-term employees in the Ministry of Justice.
	Ordinary maternity leave (OML) is provided for 26 weeks. Additional maternity leave (AML) must, if taken, follow on from ordinary maternity leave and is an additional 26 weeks maternity leave.
	The Ministry of Justice will pay occupational maternity pay to eligible employees for up to 39 weeks. The first 26 weeks will be paid at full contractual pay. The following 13 weeks will be paid at the lesser of either the standard weekly rate of statutory maternity pay or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings.
	To be eligible for occupational maternity pay, employees must have at least one year's continuous government service at the expected week of childbirth (EWC) and must notify their line manager of the pregnancy no later than the 15th week before the EWC or as soon as reasonably practical.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Shailesh Vara: The Ministry of Justice does not provide child care facilities for staff either directly or through a third party supplier at any location on the estate. In 2010 a maximum of 22 child care places were available at Askham Grange prison nursery. This facility was closed to the children of prison staff in March 2012. MOJ recognises that employees need flexible pre-school and out-of-school child care of a type and in a location most convenient to them. MOJ operates a salary sacrifice scheme for child care vouchers which enables employees to choose their own child care provider (subject to meeting eligibility requirements) and have their child care costs reduced by taking part of their salary in the form of childcare vouchers (called salary sacrifice) up to prescribed limits. Child care vouchers are free from tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) so employees who use the scheme will make a saving on their child care costs. In addition MOJ at present offers a limited number of subsidised holiday play scheme places in Westminster holiday play scheme.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what meetings he of Ministers in his Department have had with (a) solicitors and (b) other parties representing claimants in personal injury cases since January 2013.

Shailesh Vara: All meetings with external organisations up until October 2013 are published by the Cabinet Office on the gov.uk website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications
	Details of meetings from October 2013 onwards will be published shortly.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent progress the independent medical panels in whiplash cases have made; and what steps he is taking to ensure that interested parties not invited to participate in the Working Group can input into its work and be kept informed of its progress;
	(2)  what the purpose and composition of any sub-group of the working group on independent medical panels on whiplash cases will be;
	(3)  if he will publish the remit and objectives of the working group on independent medical panels in whiplash cases;
	(4)  who he has appointed to the working group on independent medical panels in whiplash cases;
	(5)  if he the minutes of any meetings Ministers in his Department have had to discuss independent medical panels in whiplash cases.

Shailesh Vara: The Government published its programme of measures to reduce the number and cost of whiplash claims on 23 October 2013 at:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/reducing-number-cost-whiplash
	Following consultation with industry experts, a core group has now been established to take this work forward. The group is chaired by the Ministry of Justice currently comprises members from the following organisations:
	The Association of British Insurers
	The Association of Medical Reporting Organisations
	The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
	The British Medical Association
	The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
	The Forum of Insurance Lawyers
	The Motor Accident Solicitors Society.
	This core group will maintain an overview of the project and provide strategic direction to two sub-groups—one focusing on issues relating to medical evidence and reporting (including the establishment of a medical accreditation scheme) and the other on the associated programme of legal and behavioural reform.
	The membership of the sub-groups is not yet finalised but they will consist of expert stakeholders. The sub-groups will be expected to call on the expertise of a wide range of specialist stakeholders, as appropriate.
	Further details about the programme are published on the MOJ website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/civil-justice-reforms/personal-injury-claims
	In January 2014, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), and I hosted a series of preliminary roundtable meetings with a wide range of stakeholders to discuss how this work could be taken forward. Those meetings, which were not formally minuted, led to the establishment of the groups mentioned above. It is intended that further engagement with the wider stakeholder community will continue in due course.

Prisoners

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what review he intends to carry out on the use of (a) open prisons and (b) the system of release on temporary licence and escorted absences from prisons.

Jeremy Wright: I plan to announce shortly the outcome of an internal review Ministry of Justice officials have conducted into the policy under which prisoners can be temporarily released from prison for resettlement purposes. The chief inspector of prisons conducted a review into the cases of the three prisoners who were temporarily released last summer, he will publish his findings in due course.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals of each nationality were held in custody in each prison in England and Wales on 1 February (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013.

Jeremy Wright: Annual data broken down by prison is included in the following table. Figures have been taken from 30 June in each year in accordance with standard practice for annual reporting.
	The overall number of FNOs in custody (including those held on remand and under immigration powers) is as follows:
	
		
			 30 June Number 
			 2010 11,135 
			 2011 10,779 
			 2012 10,861 
			 2013 10,786 
		
	
	The number of FNOs serving prison sentences has reduced by around 1,000 since April 2010.
	All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
	Reducing the FNO population is a top priority for this Government. We are working hard to reduce the flow of FNOs into our prison system and increase the number of FNOs removed from the UK through prisoner transfer agreements (PTAs); the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS).
	The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed 231 FNOs to date.
	Whereas this Government has begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.

Prisoners: Property

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure a mandatory increase in sentence for prisoners who are found with contraband items in their cells.

Jeremy Wright: It is already a criminal offence to possess items such as controlled drugs within or outside of prison and offences can attract significant sentences. The Ministry of Justice is working with the Crown Prosecution Service and ACPO to ensure that serious crimes of this nature by prisoners are effectively prosecuted.
	There are specific criminal offences covering many other items such as mobile phones and alcohol if they are conveyed into a prison. These offences attract sentences of up to two years imprisonment. The Government extended these powers in 2012 to make possession of mobile phones within prison a criminal offence and introduced powers in 2013 to allow any unauthorised item to be seized and destroyed. Possession of any unauthorised item within prison is a specific disciplinary offence and can attract up to 42 additional days served in prison for each offence.
	While there are already wide-ranging powers to deal with contraband found within prisons, we continue to keep the position under review and will take further legislative action if it is felt necessary to do so.

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on which occasions tornado-trained staff have been used to deal with disturbances in each prison since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: Operation Tornado is terminology used by the National Offender Management Service to describe mutual aid arrangements across the prison estate in England and Wales. These arrangements are in place to assist establishments responding to serious incidents, such as acts of concerted indiscipline by providing specially trained resources above and beyond those already available at an establishment.
	
		
			 Total number of callouts since 2005 
			  Number 
			 2005 5 
			 2006 5 
			 2007 10 
			 2008 7 
			 2009 5 
			 2010 7 
			 2011 3 
			 2012 2 
			 2013 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Details of mutual aid requests since April 2010 
			 Date Establishment requiring tornado support 
			 2010  
			 29 July Northallerton 
			 13 October Cookham Wood 
			 2 November Moorland 
			 2 November Warren Hill 
			 3 November Moorland 
			 21 November Littlehey 
			 27 December Cookham Wood 
			   
			 2011  
			 1 January Ford 
			 9 January Long Lartin 
			 10 January Littlehey 
			   
			 2012  
			 12 June Hewell 
			 26 September Buckley Hall 
			   
			 2013  
			 7 April Morton Hall immigration removal centre 
			 24 August Aylesbury 
			 21 October High Down 
		
	
	
		
			 2 November Rye Hill 
			 2 November Maidstone 
			   
			 2014  
			 5 January Oakwood

Prisons: Self-harm

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the number of episodes of self-harm within the prison estate involving (a) prisoners and (b) custodial staff; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The number of incidents of self-harm within the prison estate involving prisoners is published quarterly in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin which can be found at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics
	Incidents of self-harm by staff are not recorded. It is not thought that there is a prevalence of self-harm in the prison work force significantly over and above any other occupational population. Were an issue of staff self-harm to come to the attention of management or to be found to be affecting adversely someone's ability to work or that of their colleagues, it would be treated in line with existing policies on employee occupational health and well-being.

Probation

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish the provisions for information sharing and data protection agreed with providers of offender management services.

Jeremy Wright: The contracts for the following services are available as follows:
	Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS)
	https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=189283&fs=true
	Private Prisons
	HMP Birmingham
	https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Search%20Contracts/Search%20Contracts%20Results.aspx?sc=23aada9e-9262-44b2-ba04-307741ffc17a
	HMP Oakwood (previously called Featherstone II)
	https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=249231&fs=true
	HMP & YOI Doncaster
	https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=242328&fs=true
	HMP Northumberland
	https://online.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx?site=1000&lang=en&noticeid=1125987&fs=true
	The provisions for information sharing and data protection agreed with providers of offender management services for these services can be found in these contracts. In addition attached to this written response are two documents for Electronic Monitoring (EM), these extracts show the provisions for information sharing and data protection for these offender management services contracts.

Public Defender Service

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of undertaking recruitment to fill the recently advertised positions in the Public Defender Service (PDS); and what estimate he has made of the annual (a) running costs and (b) pay bill will be of the PDS.

Shailesh Vara: The public would expect us to take steps to ensure the Public Defender Service can provide high quality defence advocacy where it needs to and this is what we are doing.
	The appointments are all full-time and permanent positions, which means that the advocates will work exclusively for the service, and as a result will take on a series of cases each year including very high cost cases and advocates graduated fee scheme work. The PDS will continue to deal with a small minority of overall case numbers.
	Salaries paid are based on an individual’s skills and experience, are comparable to those paid by the CPS for salaried prosecutors, and to what a self-employed barrister would be able to earn under legal aid. We cannot currently give the estimated figures requested while the recruitment process is still ongoing as costs will be dependent upon the outcome.

Public Expenditure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what budget his Department allocated to (a) the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, (b) the Assessor for Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice, (c) the Civil Justice Council, (d) the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, (e) the Criminal Cases Review Commission, (f) the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, (g) the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee, (h) the Crown Court Rules Committee, (i) the Family Justice Council, (j) HM Inspectorate of Prisons, (k) HM Inspectorate of Probation, (l) the Insolvency Rules Committee, (m) the Judicial Appointments Commission, (n) the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman, (o) the Judicial Office, (p) the Law Commission, (q) the Legal Services Board, (r) the Legal Services Commission, (s) the National Offender Management Service, (t) the Probation Service, (u) the Court Funds Office, (v) the Office of the Information Commissioner, (w) the Office for Judicial Complaints, (x) the Legal Ombudsman, (y) the Office of the Public Guardian, (z) the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee, (aa) the Parole Board, (bb) the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, (cc) the Sentencing Council, (dd) the Tribunal Procedure Committee, (ee) the Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses and (ee) the Youth Justice Board in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15.

Shailesh Vara: The information required to provide a full response to the question could not be collated within the time frame available. I will write to the right hon. Member in due course.

Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions have been brought against train companies for infringements under section 17 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice's Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. The database of statutes under which proceedings may be brought does not include section 17 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 and hence the Ministry of Justice does not hold any data on proceedings under this section of the Act.

Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many offenders released on licence were returned to prison on a fixed term recall in each year since 2008;
	(2)  how many offenders released on licence have been returned to prison on fixed term recall basis on more than one occasion in each year since 2008 under (a) the same sentence and (b) a different sentence.

Jeremy Wright: Fixed term recalls, where a recalled offender serves 28 days before being automatically re-released, were introduced in 2008 and apply only to those offenders on licence who are not assessed as presenting a high risk of harm to the public. Offenders who are assessed as presenting a high risk of harm will be given a standard recall, under which they can remain in custody, potentially, until the end of their sentence. They will only be released before the end of their sentence if the Parole Board or Secretary of State is satisfied they no longer need to be detained to protect the public.
	The Government introduced the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill on 5 February which introduces new provisions, whereby offenders who are considered highly likely to commit further breaches, including reoffending, will be deemed unsuitable for a fixed term recall. They will be released before the end of their sentence only if the Parole Board or Secretary of State is satisfied as to their future compliance with their licence.
	These changes will ensure that prolific or persistently non-compliant offenders who are recalled to prison – as well as those who present a risk of harm – can be held for the remainder of their sentence where necessary. Fixed term recalls will continue to be used in low-risk cases where a short period back in custody is sufficient to deal with the breach and the offender can then safely be re-released to continue with their rehabilitation under licensed supervision in the community.
	The following table provides a breakdown of the number of fixed term recalls from 2011 to the end of September 2013, which is the most recent published data.
	Data from 2008-10 is not available in the required electronic format to answer this question.
	
		
			  Fixed term recalls Total recalls Offenders with more than one fixed term recall 
			 2011 4,530 16,227 n/a 
			 2012 5,123 16,481 89 
			 20131 5,347 12,858 785 
			 1 January to end September. 
		
	
	It is not possible to establish from this recall dataset whether an offender who had more than one fixed term recall in a year was serving the same or a different sentence in that specific year.

Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions have been brought under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 to date; and how many such prosecutions have resulted in a conviction.

Jeremy Wright: Statistics on prosecutions for offences under the Scrap Metal Act 2013, or any other statute, for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014 as part of the criminal justice statistics annual publication. Similarly such data for 2014 are planned for publication in spring 2015.

Secure Colleges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library the impact assessment for the policy of housing of young girls in secure colleges.

Jeremy Wright: An impact assessment for the Transforming Youth Custody programme, including the development of a pathfinder Secure College, was published on 17 January alongside the Government response to the Transforming Youth Custody publication.
	We have not ruled out having units for girls at the pathfinder Secure College that will open in 2017. As we develop our plans, we will carefully consider our approach to accommodating girls to ensure that the secure youth estate continues to meet their needs.

Terrorism

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) investigations, (b) charges and (c) convictions there have been for (i) the offence of making or possession of explosive under suspicious circumstances, (ii) weapons training for terrorism and (iii) training for terrorism in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 27 February 2014
	I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics detailing the number of counter-terrorism arrests, charges and convictions. The data on counter: terrorism arrests, charges and convictions is available in the Home Office statistical release “Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation: Arrests, outcomes and stops and searches”. This statistical release can be accessed via the following link and covers the rest of the required data for the last 10 years.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000-2012-to-2013/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000-and-subsequent-legislation-arrests-outcomes-and-stop-and-searches-great-britain-2012-to-20
	The data on charges and convictions is collected on a principal offence basis, which entails only the most serious offence (ie the one carrying the most severe penalty) being recorded.
	Statistics for investigations into the named suspected offences are not available. The Home Office statistical release does not contain data on the number of arrests broken down by suspected offence.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register

Therese Coffey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the additional costs to be reimbursed to local authorities for the transition of voter registration forms from A4 size to A3.

Greg Clark: The A3 format was selected following the Electoral Commission's recommendation.
	The Government is committed to meeting reasonable costs incurred by local authorities in the transition to individual electoral registration and will publish figures once they are finalised.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will publish the full report on the data matching pilots for individual electoral registration.

Greg Clark: A full report evaluating pilots testing data matching for the purposes of identifying new electors was published in July 2013. The report can be accessed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223850/Data_Mining_Evaluation_FULL_Report_FINAL.pdf

Electoral Register

David Blunkett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which organisations received funding from the Innovations Fund as part of the Democratic Engagement Programme; how much each such organisation received; and what the time period is for their projects.

Greg Clark: The Government has announced that five national organisations have received funding as part of the measures to maximise registration. Details of the allocation of funding can be found at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-for-new-ways-to-encourage-voter-registration
	These organisations are expected to deliver projects by the end of July.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 971W, on Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, if he will give the ranking according to data matching rates of the authorities that took part in the data matching pilots for individual electoral registration.

Greg Clark: The results and evaluation of the 2012 data matching pilots were published in April 2013, and are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-the-transition-to-individual-electoral-registration
	Further to the 2012 pilots, a full-scale dry run of Confirmation data matching—involving all 380 local authorities—took place in the summer of 2013. The results and evaluation were published in October 2013 and are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-confirming-electors-through-data-matching

Electoral Register: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report, columns 54-5W, on electoral register, what assessment he has made of the reason for the disparity between (a) levels of proven instances of electoral fraud and (b) public perception of electoral fraud;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of comments by (a) Government Ministers, (b) hon. Members and (c) the media on public perception of electoral fraud.

Greg Clark: The Electoral Commission has recently completed a review of electoral fraud in the UK, for which it commissioned research on public perceptions of electoral fraud. The report can be found here
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/164609/Electoral-fraud-review-final-report.pdf
	The Government will respond in due course.

Local Government: Urban Areas

Andy Sawford: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to make an announcement on the City Deal bid submitted by Milton Keynes council.

Greg Clark: Discussions with Milton Keynes council and the South East Midlands local enterprise partnership are ongoing on both a City Deal and a Local Growth Deal.

Local Government: Urban Areas

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made on identifying areas not included in the first or second wave of the City Deals programme as eligible for subsequent initiatives.

Greg Clark: Building on the successes of City Deals, all 39 local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) have been invited to develop strategic economic plans to set out what needs to be done to boost growth in their area.
	As part of each strategic economic plan, a Growth Deal bid is being developed for negotiation with central Government for the allocation of the local growth fund.
	The local growth fund will beat least £2 billion a year from 2015-16. As a result of this, all parts of England are able to access and benefit from this initiative.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the spending on locum doctors was in accident and emergency in each year since 2005 at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	We have written to Rob Hughes, chair of Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, informing him of the hon. Member's inquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Ambulance Services

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS service providers subcontract to a private provider for ambulance services.

Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally.

Ambulance Services

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died in ambulances en route for emergency admission to hospital in each ambulance trust area in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: These data are not collected centrally.

Autism

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to further develop understanding and awareness of autism in local communities.

Norman Lamb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Mr Sanders), on 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 172W.

Brain Cancer

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to improve diagnosis and awareness of brain cancers; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, published on 12 January 2011, committed over £450 million over the four years up to 2014-15 to achieve earlier diagnosis of cancer, including supporting direct general practitioner (GP) access to key diagnostic tests such as magnetic resonance imaging scans to support the diagnosis of brain cancer. NHS England monitors the use of key diagnostic tests through the diagnostic imaging dataset.
	The earlier diagnosis money also included some central funding for Be Clear on Cancer (BCOC) campaigns, which aim to raise awareness of the symptoms of cancer and get symptomatic patients to present earlier. In partnership with the Department and NHS England (including NHS Improving Quality), Public Health England has taken on the running of the BCOC campaigns. Our focus so far has been on cancers with the largest number of avoidable deaths, compared with countries with the best survival rates. We will continue to keep these campaigns under review and work with relevant experts to see what might be done to tackle other cancers, including brain cancers.
	To increase awareness of brain tumours among GPs, in 2012, the Department funded British Medical Journal Learning to provide an e-learning module for GPs on diagnosing osteosarcoma and brain tumours in children. The module helps GPs to understand the main types of brain tumours in children and young people, and their common presentations, and to recognise when patients need urgent referral.
	Finally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is in the process of updating the “Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer” (2005) to ensure that it reflects latest evidence and can continue to support GPs to identify patients with the symptoms of suspected cancer, including brain tumours, and urgently refer them as appropriate.
	Earlier this year, I met with representatives of the HeadSmart charity and discussed a range of issues with them, including diagnosis and awareness of brain tumours in children.

Brain: Injuries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on how many people have suffered concussion injuries while playing sport, by category of sport, in each year for which data is available.

Jane Ellison: This information is not collected.

Brain: Tumours

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to increase the amount spent on funding brain tumour research; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) will spend an estimated £0.5 million in 2013-14 on brain cancer research through research programmes, research centres and units, and research training awards. Total NIHR spend on brain cancer research is higher than this because expenditure by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) on brain cancer research cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.
	Total spend in future years by the NIHR on brain cancer research depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including brain cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and the national health service, value for money and scientific quality.
	Subject to contract, the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme has awarded over £1.3 million for a trial of radiation versus observation following surgical resection of atypical meningioma. The study is expected to begin later in 2014.

Cancer

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans his Department has in place to roll-out national commissioning of existing molecular pathology tests for cancer treatment;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on including molecular diagnostic testing of cancer within specialised commissioning; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has an expert group working on the development of a commissioning model for such tests and is close to having the relevant commissioning tools in draft form (that is a service specification for test providers and a draft national commissioning policy clarifying what tests should be routinely commissioned across England).
	These will be taken through the sign off/agreement process within NHS England. This process will take a number of months and may require public consultation. Final decisions on this will be subject to affordability.
	We have had no discussions with NHS England on including molecular diagnostic testing of cancer within specialised commissioning.

Cancer

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the cost of NHS England funding the RAS test and other companion diagnostic tests.

Norman Lamb: The Department has made no such assessment.
	In August 2013, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issued diagnostics guidance on the use of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK) mutation testing in adults with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer which is accompanied by a costing statement for the national health service.

Cancer

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make an assessment of the steps (a) already taken and (b) planned to fully implement the Improving Outcomes guidance reports on cancer services; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to implement the Improving Outcomes guidance reports on cancer services; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Work on rolling out the Improving Outcomes in cancer Guidance (IOG) began in 2004, and the programme of work has continued and widened as new sets of IOG were published in the years that followed. As a result of the work undertaken the National Cancer Action Team's Cancer Peer Review Programme over the last 10 years, the majority of cancer services have now successfully implemented the IOGs.
	However, there remain outstanding and ongoing issues where further work is needed in some of the specialist and rarer cancers and where there are updates or reviews of guidance planned.
	The new National Peer Review Programme will be continuing to monitor the implementation of the IOG for cancer services and work with National Clinical Director for Cancer, Sean Duffy, and local and specialist commissioners to resolve any issues relating to IOG implementation.

Cancer

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of (a) Gamma Knife, (b) Novalis, (c) Cyberknife and (d) XKnife treatments; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: As of 1 April 2013, radiotherapy services are planned and paid for by NHS England.
	NHS England has published commissioning policy statements for stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, which are the type of radiotherapy treatments that the Gamma Knife, Novalis, Cyberknife and XKnife radiotherapy machines provide.
	All patients meeting the clinical criteria set out in the commissioning policy statements will have access to that treatment, regardless of where they live.

Cancer

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the efficacy of the steps taken by his Department to improve the quality of life of cancer patients since 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The National Cancer Survivorship Initiative (NCSI), a partnership between the Department and Macmillan Cancer Support launched in 2008, has worked with NHS Improvement to pilot transformed pathways of care for adults and for children and young people with cancer designed to improve quality of life.
	Lessons learned from the pilots informed the NCSI report “Living with and beyond cancer: Taking Action to Improve Outcomes”, published in March 2013. The report sets out evidence behind a number of tested solutions which improve outcomes and help to address the cost challenges of the national health service. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library.
	Survivorship care is now the responsibility of NHS England, and the recommendations in the report will support NHS England and local NHS teams to drive improved cancer survivorship outcomes and will help deliver our ambition to enhance the quality of life for all people with long-term conditions. Going forward, NHS England will be working with Macmillan to produce commissioning advice to promote better survivorship services across the NHS.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Daniel Poulter: The information on the proportion of civil servants within the Department promoted by the respective groups can be found in the following three tables. The information has been extracted from the Department's Business Management System and is based on the voluntary diversity declaration provided by individuals.
	
		
			 Table 1: Proportion of civil servants promoted by gender within the last five years 
			 Percentage 
			  Male Female 
			 2009 43 57 
			 2010 30 70 
			 2011 38 63 
			 2012 41 59 
			 2013 48 52 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Proportion of civil servants promoted by white British and other ethnic groups in the last five years 
			 Percentage 
			  White British Any other ethnic groups Unknown 
			 2009 47 47 5 
			 2010 30 67 3 
			 2011 54 42 4 
			 2012 61 38 2 
			 2013 65 33 2 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Proportion of civil servants promoted by disability within the last five years 
			 Percentage 
			  Disabled Non-disabled Unknown 
			 2009 5 90 5 
			 2010 3 94 3 
			 2011 8 88 4 
			 2012 4 95 2 
			 2013 7 91 2

Cholesterol

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans NHS England has to develop a patient registry and database for people diagnosed with familial hyper-cholesterolaemia;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment of people with familial hyper-cholesterolaemia using methods recommended in NICE Guideline CG71 issued in August 2008.

Jane Ellison: NHS England advises that software to provide a database for familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is available and will be increasingly used in England as FH services are established.
	The responsibility for commissioning of FH services lies with local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Provision of services will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG's decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs.
	NHS England would expect organisations to have mechanisms in place to determine whether or not the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline CG71: “Identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia” is applicable to them. If guidance is applicable, there is an expectation organisations would review their current practice against NICE guidance.
	In addition, the Health and Social Care Act (2012) places a duty on NHS England to have regard to NICE Quality Standards, including when producing any commissioning guidance.
	The National Clinical Director for Heart Disease at NHS England is working with the Strategic Clinical Networks to promote cascade testing for the relatives of people who have hypercholesterolaemia.

Contraceptives: Thromboembolism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of whether there is a connection between use of the contraceptive pill and fatal blood clots.

Norman Lamb: It has been well known for many years that there is a small risk of blood clots associated with the combined contraceptive pill. A comprehensive review in Europe of the latest evidence on the association between combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) and blood clots was finalised in November 2013. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) led this review which concluded that: the risk of blood clots with CHCs remains small; products that contain levonorgestrel, norethisterone, or norgestimate have the lowest risk; the benefits of any CHC far outweigh the risk of serious side effects.
	In January 2014 the MHRA sent a letter to prescribers in the United Kingdom informing them of the outcome of the review. This communication included a range of supporting materials for prescribers and women to increase awareness of the small risk of blood clots associated with CHCs, the relevant risk factors and the symptoms; and to help prescribers and women make informed choices.

Directors

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the name, job title and salary level of each director who has worked in his Department since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The Department publishes details of all roles performed by directors, director generals, and permanent secretaries working in the Department on a bi-annual basis. The publication is available on the data.gov.uk website under the heading of Public Roles & Salaries. This information has been available since June 2010 and shows details from each publication to date. The data comprises name, job title and salary range (in £5,000 bands). A copy of the information has been placed in the Library.
	The first publication (June 2010) is shorter than subsequent publications as the transparency request agenda was still being formulated; however this process became more systematic in successive exercises.

Electronic Cigarettes

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect in the UK of the vote of the European Parliament of 26 February 2014 on regulation and marketing of e-cigarettes.

Jane Ellison: The United Kingdom Government welcomed the European Commission's decision to revise the tobacco products directive with the intention of strengthening the functioning of the internal market in tobacco products and improving public health.
	The revised directive was formally agreed by the European Parliament plenary on 26 February 2014. European Union member states are expected to adopt the revised directive in March 2014.
	The revised directive will require electronic cigarettes which are not licensed as medicines to be regulated as consumer goods with specific requirements, for example in relation to nicotine content, labelling and emissions. The directive also contains provisions on cross border advertising of electronic cigarettes.
	The effect of all the provisions in the revised directive will be assessed in transposing the provisions into UK law.

Food: Allergies

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that recently-published National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline on diagnosing food allergy in children and young people in a primary care and community setting are read and adhered to by GPs.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (NICE's) clinical guidelines represent best practice. They are based on the latest available evidence and developed through wide consultation. We expect healthcare professionals to be aware of NICE clinical guidelines and to fully take these into account when deciding how to treat patients.

Hepatitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether sofosbuvir will be made available on the NHS to treat hepatitis C.

Norman Lamb: Sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) has recently been licensed for use in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in adults and may be prescribed for use on the national health service, subject to funding being made available by the relevant commissioner.
	The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of sofosbuvir for this condition. We understand that NICE currently expects to issue guidance in October 2014.
	In the absence of final NICE technology appraisal guidance, it is for NHS commissioners to make funding decisions on the use of the drug based on an assessment of the available evidence and the individual patient's clinical circumstances.

Hepatitis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people diagnosed with hepatitis C have received anti-viral treatments in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: In 2012, the Health Protection Agency (now Public Health England) used national data from pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy purchasing data and pharmacy prescribing data to estimate how many individuals had been treated in England. These calculations suggested that around 27,500 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) could have been treated with pegylated interferon as part of the NICE recommended combination therapy between 2006 and 20111.
	1 hepatitis C in the UK: 2013 report available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/InfectiousDiseases/BloodBorneInfections/HepatitisCInTheUK/1307HepatitisCintheUK2013report/
	The estimated annual numbers of HCV-positive patients receiving combination therapy based on pegylated interferon sold, purchased and dispensed covering the period 2006-11 will be published in a peer reviewed journal in the next six months.

Hepatitis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase testing of hepatitis C.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England co-developed the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Certificate in the Detection, Diagnosis and Management of Hepatitis B and C in Primary Care to help raise awareness in primary care and among other professionals working with groups at high risk of chronic viral hepatitis infection1.
	The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have produced guidance for health professionals to promote and offer testing for hepatitis C2.
	1 RCGP e-learning on Hepatitis B and C: Detection, Diagnosis and Management:
	www.rcgp.org.uk/courses-and-events/online-learning/ole/hepatitis-b-and-c.aspx
	2 NICE guidance (PH43) Hepatitis B and C—ways to promote and offer testing:
	http://guidance.nice.org.uk/PH43/Guidance/pdf/English

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients waited longer than the specified 18 week period to begin NHS consultant-led treatment on referral from their GP in the latest period for which data is available.

Jane Ellison: In December 2013, 8.5% of patients requiring admission to hospital and 3.2% of patients not requiring admission to hospital, waited longer than 18 weeks from referral to begin national health service consultant-led treatment. Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times are published monthly at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/

Information Officers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many press officers were employed in his Department on 1 February 2014.

Daniel Poulter: On 1 February 2014, 26 press officers were employed by the Department.
	The press office responds to media inquiries 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Magnetic Resonance Imagers

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much of the Government’s £450 million for earlier cancer detection has been spent on MRI machines for brain cancer;
	(2)  which NHS sites received new MRI machines in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013;
	(3)  what criteria were used to determine which sites were provided with new MRI machines in the last five years;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of how much was spent on the early diagnosis of brain cancer in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14 to date; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what criteria his Department used to decide where new treatments for (a) cancer and (b) brain cancer will be placed; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  how many brain MRI scans were performed on suspected brain tumour patients in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Information concerning the number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans which were performed on suspected brain tumour patients is not collected.
	The Department monitors access to diagnostic tests, including MRI scans, through the diagnostic imaging dataset, which is available at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/diagnostic-imaging-dataset/
	These statistics contain monthly data on diagnostic imaging tests on national health service patients in England at provider level. However, they do not identify the reason for a diagnostic test taking place, such as suspected cancer.
	“Improving Outcomes: Strategy for Cancer”, published in January 2011, committed over £450 million in funding to support earlier diagnosis of cancer up to 2014-15. The early diagnosis money is being used to: raise awareness of the symptoms of cancer; improve general practitioner access to key diagnostic tests, to pay for more testing and treatment in secondary care.
	With the exception of centrally funded cancer awareness campaign activity, early diagnosis spend on specific cancers cannot be identified. There has been no centrally funded awareness activity on brain cancer.
	Procurement of MRI machines is matter for local NHS trusts. Neither the Department, nor NHS England, routinely monitors the procurement of equipment locally.
	Procurement of cancer equipment is also a local matter. However, where a treatment is delivered as part of the specialised commissioning arrangements, NHS England may seek to restrict the number of providers in order to ensure that a high level of clinical expertise, specialised resources, skills and staffing are maintained.
	One notable exception would also be the two proton beam therapy facilities that the Department has put aside £250 million to build at the Christie hospital in Manchester and university college London hospital. In this case, the location of these centres was decided via a formal bidding process.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work;
	(2)  what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has a high retention rate of civil servants who have taken maternity leave and offers a range of flexible working benefits to support parents in their ongoing caring responsibilities.
	All civil servants who went on maternity leave in the last five years returned to work. Two civil servants moved from maternity leave to career breaks but we are expecting them to return.
	In each of the last five years, all of the civil servants who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the civil service at six months and one year after they returned to work. For civil servants with at least one year's service, the Department offers a contractual entitlement to 26 weeks maternity leave on full pay, and a subsequent 13 weeks paid at statutory maternity pay for the period of continuous absence before and after giving birth.

Medical Records: Databases

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the introduction of summary care records for the sharing of patients' records with community pharmacies.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England is currently exploring the possibility of developing a case for allowing pharmacists to access the Summary Care Record (SCR). This is being considered as part of the Pharmacy Call to Action. This will need to be sequenced into the development timetable for the SCR, alongside other priorities, and it would be inappropriate to make any commitments on timing at this stage.

Medical Records: Databases

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential for improved levels of patient safety by allowing pharmacists access to the electronic patient record.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England will consider this as part of the Pharmacy Call to Action, in conjunction with the integrated digital care record (IDCR) strategy group. This group forms part of the National Informatics Board, which has overall responsibility for the development of the IDCR strategy.

Mental Health Services

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve mental health provision in England.

Norman Lamb: Improving mental health and well-being is a priority for this Government. Our overarching goal is to ensure mental health has equal priority with physical health, and that everyone who needs it has timely access to the best available mental health provision. We are investing over £400 million to give thousands of people, in all areas of the country, access to approved psychological therapies. We are also investing £54 million over four years (2011-15) in the Children and Young People's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme —giving children and young people improved and timely access to the best mental health care. The Department has a total budget of £22 million to support veterans' physical and mental health from 2010 to 2015. This includes investing £1.8 million each year until 2015 in support and care for veterans with mental health problems (£7.2 million in total).
	By improved co-ordination between emergency and mental health services, we are working to deliver a fast, effective and safe response to people experiencing mental health crisis through delivery of the action plan set out in our new Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat and via our street triage schemes.
	Our mental health action plan, Closing the Gap, shows how changes in local service planning and delivery will make a difference, in the next couple of years, to the lives of people with mental health problems: setting out 25 priority areas where people can expect to experience the fastest changes.

Midwives

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives from overseas have registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is an independent body and responsible for matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties, including registration of nurses and midwives who meet the required standards of education and practice. Statistical information about NMC registrations is not collected by the Department. However, the NMC advises that during calendar years 2009 to 2013, one midwife trained in a country outside of the European economic area joined the NMC register in 2011.

NHS Property Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a project assessment review into NHS Property Services has taken place since August 2012.

Daniel Poulter: The National Audit Office are currently undertaking a review of the process to establish NHS Property Services Ltd and their findings will be published next month. Their findings will be used to decide if further formal reviews are necessary.

NHS: Crimes of Violence

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he collects on assaults on NHS staff; and if he will publish statistics on (a) the gender of people so assaulted and (b) where such assaults took place in the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: NHS Protect collates figures annually on reported physical assaults on national health service staff. Information on the number of reported physical assaults in the last five years is contained in the documents ‘Tables showing the number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in 2008-09, broken down by NHS trust/PCT’, ‘Tables showing the number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in.2009-10, broken down by NHS trust/PCT’, ‘Tables showing the number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in 2010/11, broken down by NHS trust/PCT’ and ‘Tables showing the number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in 2011-12, broken down by NHS trust/PCT’ which have already been placed in the Library and in the document ‘Tables showing the number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in 2012-13, broker down by health body’ which has been placed in the Library.
	The tables provide information on employing NHS bodies but not the specific locations where assaults took place or the gender of staff assaulted. NHS bodies are able to report further detail on assaults to NHS Protect via a security incident report system. Reports made via this system are not published.

NHS: Staff

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will collect and publish statistics on the gender and ethnic background of (a) managers and (b) the work force of the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre annual national health service workforce census shows data on ethnicity and gender of NHS staff in England as at 30 September each year. This is made up of three statistical bulletins which cover non-medical, medical and general practice staff. The latest available statistics are as at 30 September 2012. The information requested has been placed in the Library. For general practitioners country of primary medical qualification is shown rather than ethnicity.
	The next annual NHS workforce census showing data as at 30 September 2013 will be published on 25 March 2014.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (a) 5 May 2010 and (b) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Daniel Poulter: The Department of Health does not directly operate any workplace nurseries on its premises.
	The Department's employees, based in Quarry House in Leeds, have access to a subsidised workplace nursery which is run by a third party provider on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Obesity: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children entering secondary schools were classed as obese by the National Childhood Measurement programme in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: Obesity prevalence for children in Year 6 (the final year of primary school) as recorded through the National Child Measurement Programme since 2010 is as shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 School year Year 6 boys Year 6 girls Boys and girls combined 
			 2009-10 20.4 17.0 18.7 
			 2010-11 20.6 17.4 19.0 
			 2011-12 20.7 17.7 19.2 
			 2012-13 20.4 17.4 18.9 
			 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre 
		
	
	The data for the 2013-14 school year will be published in December 2014.

Radiotherapy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will publish the names and professional qualifications of those who conducted NHS England's stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy intercranial needs assessment and service review of January 2014;
	(2)  with reference to section 68, page 18 of NHS England's stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy intercranial needs assessment and service review of January 2014, how many intercranial patients Plymouth hospital has treated stereotactically in each of the last two years; whether Plymouth hospital has a device dedicated solely to providing intercranial stereotactic radiotherapy; and for what reason Plymouth hospital was chosen to make the assessment assumptions;
	(3)  with reference to table 39 on page 36 of NHS England's stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy intercranial needs assessment and service review of January 2014, how many of the hospitals listed have devices dedicated solely to providing intercranial stereotactic radiotherapy;
	(4)  what assessment has been made of potential savings from the implementation of the recommendation of NHS England's stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy intercranial needs assessment and service review, published in January 2014.

Jane Ellison: The names and professional qualifications of those who participated in the stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) intercranial needs assessment and service review and the development of the final report will be published along with the final report.
	NHS England has been undertaking a review of provision to ascertain the right future model to deliver the best outcomes for patients. The final report following this review has not yet been finalised or published. As the document remains draft and is still subject to ongoing engagement and development, NHS England is unable to comment on whether Plymouth hospital has a device dedicated solely to providing intercranial SRT; the reason that Plymouth hospital was chosen to make the assessment assumptions; or how many of the listed hospitals have devices dedicated solely to providing intercranial SRT.
	In the following table, we have provided information concerning finished consultant episodes (FCE) with a main or secondary operative procedure of SRS on the tissue of the brain by Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13:
	
		
			  Number of FCEs 
			 2011-12 70 
			 2012-13 63 
			 Note: An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre. 
		
	
	The purpose of the draft document is to share emerging findings of the review with clinical reference groups (CRGs) to seek their views. Once the views of stakeholders have been gathered, this will then go to specialised commissioning oversight group (SCOG) to agree a preferred option. Once the SCOG has a preferred option, NHS England will consult with the public, patients and professionals, taking account of those views when making a final decision. If it is concluded there are to be significant changes in the provision of services, there will be full public consultation before any changes are made.
	As the review is ongoing, NHS England is still developing the report with CRGs, and internally within NHS England. As part of the development of the final draft, there are a number of ongoing pieces of work that NHS England is in the process of completing. This includes an impact assessment which would consider the effect of each option, including any economic impacts. NHS England will be writing to providers to update them on the status of this report and to inform them how and when they will be engaged in this work going forward.

Streptococcus

Mike Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what comparative assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the enriched culture medium and the general purpose test for testing Group B streptococcus in babies.

Daniel Poulter: The chief medical officer requested the former Health Protection Agency (HPA) to explore whether a more accurate test for group B streptococcus (GBS) in pregnant women, called enriched culture medium (ECM), should be made available in its regional laboratories, when there was a clinical indication for testing.
	In response to this, Public Health England (PHE, formerly the HPA) undertook a piece of work with clinical organisations to determine in which circumstances the ECM test could be used in pregnant women.
	In the event, this work concluded that within current clinical guidance from the key professional bodies, UK National Screening Committee, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, there are no clinical indications which should prompt the offer of an ECM test for GBS and so PHE decided not to provide this test in its laboratories.
	PHE does not offer any testing exclusively for GBS in babies. When a neonate presents with symptoms consistent with a systemic infection—or sepsis—isolation of micro-organisms from blood cultures remains the gold standard method of diagnosing sepsis. Neonatal sepsis can be caused by GBS, but other important micro-organisms such as E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus can also cause sepsis, and blood culture is the most effective method of differentiating between these different types of bacteria.

Streptococcus

Mike Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of enriched culture medium testing in (a) France, (b) Canada, (c) Spain, (d) the US and (e) other countries to identify Group B streptococcus.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) understands that enriched culture medium (ECM) testing is available for women during pregnancy in some other countries including some European countries, the United States of America and Canada.
	In the United Kingdom, the National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four UK countries about all aspects of screening policy, including screening policy for group B streptococcus (GBS) carriage in pregnancy.
	At its meeting in 2012 the UK NSC recommended that in the UK context, screening for GBS carriage at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy should not be offered. When reviewing the evidence for antenatal screening for GBS carriage, the UK NSC looked at evidence from a number of countries. A systematic review of the global prevalence of early and late onset GBS was reviewed. This suggested that the rate of infections in the UK was comparable to that in countries and regions employing widespread testing.
	Within the English context, PHE undertook a piece of work with clinical organisations, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to determine whether there are any circumstances in which the ECM test could be applied within current accepted standards of care.
	This work by PHE concluded that there are no clinical indications for testing women for GBS using ECM methods as recommended within current guidance from the key professional bodies.

Sugar

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings he has had with campaign groups dealing with the health risks of sugar since taking office.

Jane Ellison: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), met with Action on Sugar on 3 February 2014. In addition he has held various meetings with non-governmental organisations and public health groups where healthy diet and obesity may have been discussed.
	Details of all ministerial meetings with external parties are published quarterly in arrears on the Department's website. The latest publication can be found on the Department's website:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2012-to-2013?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Syphilis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of syphilis have been diagnosed in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: The following table contains the number of diagnoses of infectious syphilis made in England for the three most recent years for which data are available (2010, 2011 and 2012) broken down by gender and age group.
	
		
			 Number of infectious syphilis diagnoses among England residents, by gender and age group: 2010-12 
			 Gender Age group 2010 2011 2012 
			 Male <15 0 0 0 
			  15-19 54 68 55 
			  20-24 259 301 334 
			  25-34 741 872 903 
			  35-44 710 822 755 
			  45-64 535 526 619 
			  65+ 47 49 39 
			  Other 9 6 8 
			  Total 2,355 2,644 2,713 
			      
			 Female <15 0 1 1 
			  15-19 31 20 22 
			  20-24 76 62 68 
			  25-34 101 112 88 
			  35-44 60 64 57 
			  45-64 23 32 27 
			  65+ 2 2 2 
			  Other 0 0 0 
			  Total 293 293 265 
			      
		
	
	
		
			 Total <15 0 1 1 
			  15-19 85 88 77 
			  20-24 335 363 402 
			  25-34 844 984 991 
			  35-44 773 886 812 
			  45-64 559 559 646 
			  65+ 49 52 41 
			  Other 9 6 8 
			  Total 2,654 2,939 2,978 
			 Notes: 1. Data are sourced from the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset (GUMCADv2) GUM clinic returns. 2. Data follow calendar years (January to December), not financial years (April to March). 3. Data represent the number of diagnoses reported and not the number of people diagnosed. 4. Data represent sexually transmitted infections diagnoses among people accessing services located in England, i.e. data may include people who are resident in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad. 5. Data totals may include diagnoses reported with an unknown gender or an unknown age group. 6. Age group category ‘<15’ includes those aged 13 to 14 only. 7. Age group category ‘other’ includes those aged 0 to 12 and those with an unknown age. 8. Age group category ‘65+’ includes those aged 65-99 only. 9. Infectious syphilis is defined as: primary (A1), secondary (A2) and early latent (A3). Diagnoses of congenital and late latent (non-infectious) syphilis (codes A4, A5, A6 and A7a) have been excluded from this data presentation.

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) complaints and (b) other items of correspondence his Department has received expressing concern over children's heart surgery at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust; and on what date each such complaint or item of correspondence was received.

Jane Ellison: A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified three items of correspondence about children's heart surgery at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust received since 1 January 2013. Two complaints were received on 12 August 2013 and 19 August 2013, and one item of correspondence expressing concerns was received on 21 May 2013. These are minimum figures which represent correspondence received by the Department's ministerial correspondence unit only.

CABINET OFFICE

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Francis Maude: Promotion in the Cabinet Office is based on merit and suitability for the post in question.
	The requested statistics on promotion are not readily available. However, we estimate that male staff constituted 51% of all those promoted since April 2011. This closely reflects the overall proportion currently working in my Department.
	Figures for ethnicity and disability are not available. Cabinet Office does not compel staff to declare against workforce diversity indicators, including ethnicity and disability.

Civil Servants: Trade Union Officials

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Vale of Glamorgan on 11 December 2013, column 224, on civil service (union facility time), in which Departments the trade union officers who were promoted in post while doing no work as a civil servant were employed; and in which Department the officer who was promoted twice was employed.

Francis Maude: There are no plans to provide further details to protect the identities of the individuals involved.

Debts: Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the average change in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt between 2008 and 2013 in Mid Sussex constituency.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the estimated annual change in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt was between 2008 and 2013 in Mid Sussex constituency (189837).
	The Office for National Statistics publishes details of the financial liabilities of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) combined. These data are only available at the United Kingdom level and hence data are not available for Mid Sussex constituency.
	The UK data are published in the UK Economic Accounts for Quarter 3 published on 20 December 2013 which is available at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/q3-2013/index.html
	The most recent analyses on debt can be found in table A64 of this publication. The most recent analyses on borrowing can be found in Tables A12 and A55 of this publication.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times (a) the Cabinet Committee on improving the country ability to deal with flooding and (b) the National Resilience Forum has met in the last 12 months; and when each body will next meet.

Francis Maude: As was the case under previous Administrations, information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is generally not disclosed.

Government Departments: Trade Unions

Helen Goodman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will place in the Library all correspondence between his Department and other Departments on the matter of union subscription check off.

Francis Maude: In line with the practice of successive Administrations, details of internal discussions and correspondence are not usually disclosed.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the civil service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work;
	(3)  what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department.

Francis Maude: Cabinet Office staff are entitled to take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave.
	Staff who have been continuously employed by the civil service for 26 weeks prior to the 15th week before the expected date of childbirth are eligible for maternity pay.
	Within the Cabinet Office maternity pay is equivalent to full pay for the initial 26 weeks (ordinary maternity leave). During the following 26 weeks (additional maternity leave) statutory maternity pay is given for the first 13 weeks. The remaining 13 weeks are unpaid.
	Individuals who resign and do not return to work following maternity leave are usually required to refund any contractual element of maternity pay they have received.
	Cabinet Office systems do not hold specific information on staff who depart after periods of maternity leave. However, over the last five years, we estimate that 96% of staff who were on maternity leave returned to work.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Francis Maude: Cabinet Office employees have access to a subsidised workplace nursery which is run by a third party provider. There are no current plans to change its operation.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Armed Conflict: Rape

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take to ensure that the UN addresses the issue of rape as a weapon of war.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been working closely with the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative (UN SRSG) for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Mrs Zainab Hawa Bangura, to tackle impunity and build national capacities to respond to these crimes. We have provided financial support including £1 million in 2012 to Mrs Bangura's Office, undertaken joint assessments with her team of experts on Rule of Law to Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo and recently seconded a Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative expert to her office for two years. We also contributed £150,000 to the office of the UNSRSG for Children and Armed Conflict in 2013.
	In June, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), will co-host a global summit—End Sexual Violence in Conflict: London 2014—together with the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
	The UK has invited a broad range of senior UN representatives to participate in the event. The London summit offers an opportunity and platform for the 13-entity network of UN Agencies, Departments, Funds, and Programmes (UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict) to accelerate their progress on this issue. The UK will continue to support and promote the mandate of UN SRSG Bangura and the work of the UN at both a political and practical level.

British Nationals Abroad

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) homicides and (b) suspicious deaths of British nationals took place abroad in each country in each year since 2009.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold information on the total number of homicides of British nationals abroad, as it only captures information about cases that come to its attention. For the years 2009 to February 2014, the number of homicide cases that came to the attention of the FCO are in the table. Countries where the FCO was not aware of any cases are not included, and figures below five are identified as less than five in order to protect personal data.
	The FCO does not hold any information on numbers of suspicious deaths, because it is only able to capture information about deaths confirmed as murder or manslaughter.
	
		
			  FY 2008-09 FY 2009-10 FY 2010-11 FY 2011-12 FY 2012-13 FY 2013-141 
			 Afghanistan >5 >5 >5 >5 0 >5 
		
	
	
		
			 Algeria 0 0 0 0 7 0 
			 Argentina >5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Australia >5 >5 >5 >5 >5 0 
			 Austria 0 0 0 >5 0 0 
			 Bangladesh 0 >5 >5 >5 >5 >5 
			 Barbados >5 0 >5 >5 >5 0 
			 Belgium 0 0 0 0 >5 0 
			 Botswana 0 >5 0 0 0 0 
			 Brazil >5 0 0 0 >5 >5 
			 Cameroon 0 0 >5 0 0 0 
			 Canada 0 0 >5 0 0 0 
			 Cayman Islands 0 0 0 >5 >5 0 
			 China >5 0 >5 >5 0 >5 
			 Colombia 0 >5 >5 0 0 0 
			 Cyprus 0 >5 >5 0 >5 0 
			 Czech Republic 0 >5 0 0 0 0 
			 Dominican Republic 0 >5 0 0 0 0 
			 Ecuador >5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Egypt >5 0 0 0 >5 >5 
			 France >5 >5 >5 >5 >5 >5 
			 Gambia 0 0 0 0 >5 0 
			 Germany 0 0 >5 0 0 0 
			 Greece >5 0 0 >5 0 >5 
			 Grenada 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Guatemala 0 0 >5 0 >5 0 
			 Guyana >5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hungary >5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 India >5 >5 >5 >5 0 >5 
			 Iraq >5 >5 0 0 >5 0 
			 Ireland 0 >5 >5 >5 >5 >5 
			 Jamaica >5 >5 >5 8 5 >5 
			 Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 >5 
			 Kenya >5 >5 0 >5 >5 12 
			 Kuwait >5 >5 >5 0 0 0 
			 Lebanon 0 >5 >5 0 0 0 
			 Libya 0 >5 0 0 0 >5 
			 Malawi 0 0 0 0 >5 0 
			 Malaysia 0 >5 0 0 >5 0 
			 Malta 0 0 0 >5 0 0 
			 Mauritius 0 0 >5 0 0 0 
			 Mexico 0 0 0 >5 0 0 
			 Morocco 0 0 0 0 >5 >5 
			 Mozambique 0 0 0 0 >5 0 
			 Netherlands 0 0 0 >5 0 0 
			 New Zealand >5 >5 >5 >5 0 0 
			 Nigeria 0 >5 >5 >5 >5 0 
			 Pakistan 5 5 11 12 14 9 
			 Panama 0 0 >5 0 0 0 
			 Papua New Guinea 0 0 0 >5 0 0 
			 Philippines >5 >5 7 >5 0 0 
			 Poland >5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Portugal 0 0 0 >5 0 0 
			 Romania >5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Saudi Arabia >5 >5 >5 >5 0 0 
			 Seychelles 0 >5 0 0 0 0 
			 Sierra Leone >5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 South Africa >5 >5 >5 >5 >5 >5 
			 Spain >5 >5 7 >5 >5 >5 
			 Sri Lanka 0 0 0 >5 0 0 
			 St Lucia >5 0 0 0 >5 >5 
			 Sweden 0 >5 0 0 0 0 
			 Tanzania 0 0 0 0 >5 0 
			 Thailand 6 >5 >5 >5 >5 >5 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 0 0 >5 0 >5 >5 
			 Tunisia >5 0 0 0 >5 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Turkey 0 0 0 >5 0 >5 
			 Uganda >5 >5 0 0 >5 0 
			 United Arab Emirates 0 0 >5 0 0 0 
			 Uruguay 0 >5 0 0 0 0 
			 USA >5 >5 >5 5 5 >5 
			 Venezuela 0 0 0 >5 0 >5 
			 Yemen 0 0 0 >5 0 0 
			 Zambia >5 >5 0 0 0 >5 
			 Zimbabwe >5 >5 0 0 0 0 
			 1 Up to and including February 2014.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the economic effect to the UK has been of the recent economic performance of (a) Bermuda and (b) the Cayman Islands.

Mark Simmonds: Bermuda and the Cayman Islands host successful and well-regulated global financial services sectors but have small economies overall. As a result, recent economic performance has had little relative impact on the UK economy directly.

Burma

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) field of expertise and (b) qualifications are of each member of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative multidisciplinary Team of Experts in Burma.

Hugo Swire: We have not deployed a Team of Experts (ToE) to Burma to date, but are currently considering ways in which a ToE or other international or local actors might best assist in the delivery of PSVI objectives in Burma. We continue to lobby the Burmese Government on the prevention of sexual violence in conflict, and to support projects in Burma to that end. Most recently, I raised the subject with Soe Thane, the Minister of the President's Office and with the Burmese commander-in-chief during my visit to Burma in January.

Burma

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on ensuring that the government of Burma releases or charges all prisoners currently detained as political prisoners.

Hugo Swire: We welcomed President Thein Sein's order to release all prisoners and persons facing trial for political offences in December 2013. However, we are concerned there are individuals in prison whose status is disputed.
	During my visit to Burma at the end of January, I personally raised the issue of political prisoners, including a number of individual cases, with Soe Thane, Minister of the President's Office and urged the government to release all remaining political prisoners. I also raised the issue with Shwe Mann, Speaker of the Lower House, concerning activists who are being charged under legislation which is not in line with international standards. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Burmese Government to ensure that its review mechanism is comprehensive and transparent, leading to the release of all political prisoners.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Hugh Robertson: The figures represent the percentage of staff applying for promotion who have received promotion recommendations within the FCO for each of the past five years. A recommendation for promotion from one Band to the next is achieved through success in either the From A-B (FAB) Promotion Scheme, the Accelerated Promotion Scheme (From A-C) or the relevant Assessment and Development Centre between Bands B-C, C-D and D-SMS.
	The actual number of staff who have been promoted will differ slightly as promotion is activated once an officer takes up a substantive role at the higher grade having applied through open and fair competition, which in the majority of cases is through interview. We do not maintain central records of this information and to compile the data would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Male Female Undeclared/not known White British Any other ethnic minority group Undeclared/not known Disabled Non-disabled Undeclared/not known 
			 2009-10 46.6 52.4 1 78.8 10.1 11.1 5.0 91.7 3.3 
			 2010-11 51.3 47.1 1.6 78.3 9.0 12.7 5.4 93.8 0.8 
			 2011-12 53.4 46.7 0 91.0 6.7 2.2 4.5 93.3 2.2 
			 2012-13 50.3 49.7 0 87.3 9.5 3.2 3.7 95.8 0.5 
		
	
	
		
			 2013-14 (to February) 53.7 46.3 0 86.6 7.4 6.0 6.5 91.7 1.8 
			 Note: The figures above are compiled from available information. As declarations on personal information (including ethnicity and disability) arc voluntary, they may not present a fully accurate picture. 
		
	
	Staff within the FCO may also be progressed with certain bands (from Al to A2, C4 to C53 D6 to D7 and within the Senior Management Structure). Progression is achieved through appointment to a substantive job at the next level within the same Band through open and competitive selection, in the majority of cases through interview. The progression takes effect from the date the officer starts the job. As appointments are not operated centrally, we do not maintain a central record of this information because the hiring process is devolved to posts and Departments. To compile this data would again incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Grade 
			 FCO Al A2 B3 C4 C5 D6 D7 SMS 
			 Civil Service AA AO EO HEO SEO Grade 7 Grade 6 SCS

Eritrea

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to protect Eritreans working in this country from the Eritrean government's attempts to collect 2 per cent tax from them.

Mark Simmonds: The UK supports UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2023, which condemned Eritrea's use of the Diaspora tax and called on Eritrea to cease using illicit means to collect the tax. The UK has made clear that the use of coercion or other illicit means to collect the tax in the UK must cease. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials last raised this on 25 October 2013 in a meeting with the Eritrean ambassador.
	Officials from the FCO, the National Crime Agency and West Yorkshire Police have urged Eritreans in the UK to report any use of coercion or other illicit means to collect the tax to the police. We will continue to engage with the Diaspora on this issue.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Argentinian counterpart on UK oil drilling in the Falkland Islands since the beginning of 2014.

Hugo Swire: No such discussions have taken place with my Argentinean counterpart. However, during my recent visit to the Falkland Islands I met with representatives from the hydrocarbons industry currently exploring in Falkland Islands waters and with the relevant members of the Falkland Islands Government (FIG).
	The Falklands hydrocarbons industry is managed chiefly by the FIG and a range of companies of various nationalities are involved. We are keen to foster a constructive relationship with Argentina on South Atlantic issues and the Falkland Islands Government has indicated its willingness to engage with the Argentine Government on several occasions.
	Unfortunately the Argentine Government has so far refused to engage. The Government utterly rejects all Argentine attempts to criminalise hydrocarbons exploration around the Falklands to deter companies involved.

Government Communications Headquarters

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what value is applied to the fixed assets of GCHQ for resource accounting purposes.

Hugh Robertson: It is the long standing policy of successive Governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence. The value of GCHQ's fixed assets are verified each year by the National Audit Office as part of their audit of GCHQ's annual resource accounts.

Kenya

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress his Department has made on the release of files (a) related to violence against the Kenyan people at the hands of British colonial authorities and (b) relating to Britain's role in colonial Kenya; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) project to release its collection of colonial administration files, subject only to legal exemptions, was completed in November 2013. This includes files created by the colonial administration in Kenya which can be inspected at The National Archive (TNA).
	Any remaining files held by the FCO relating to Britain's role in colonial Kenya, such as those created by the Colonial Office, form part of the FCO's archive special collections. Details of these files are available in the FCO archive inventory on:
	www.gov.uk/archive-records
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), to the House on 27 February 2014, Official Report, columns 25-26WS, gave a commitment to releasing historical files in the FCO's archive special collections that, under the guidance and supervision of TNA, have been selected for permanent preservation. These collections have not yet been reviewed for release and therefore I cannot comment whether these collections contain any material not already at TNA which falls within the scope of the first part of the question.
	An overview of our release plan for the special collections is available on
	www.gov.uk/archive-records
	The FCO is currently working on a more detailed project plan which we will also be publishing on:
	www.gov.uk
	and which will provide further detail on the preparation for release of individual records series in the special collections.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Hugh Robertson: The FCO routinely captures information on individuals taking maternity leave. However, at this time, the combination of our systems and the extent of the information held mean that to answer the question in the format requested would exceed disproportionate cost thresholds.
	However, over the last five years, our record show that fewer than 10 officers have resigned directly after taking maternity leave.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department.

Hugh Robertson: FCO contractual maternity pay (CMP) offers full salary during a staff member's 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave (OML) provided the individual has been continuously employed for at least one year at the point when they start their OML and confirms in writing that they intend to return to work after maternity leave. CMP is paid instead of, and not in addition to, statutory maternity pay.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Hugh Robertson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has one directly operated nursery and one operated by a third party. Both nurseries were operating on 5 May 2010 and 5 February 2014.
	There are no plans to cease operation of either nursery in 2014-15 or 2015-16.

Uganda

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government is taking on human rights in Uganda.

Mark Simmonds: The Government engages with the Ugandan Government, business and civil society on a broad range of human rights issues, from civil and political rights to the death penalty, and support capacity-building projects. We are particularly concerned by recent developments affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We have consistently raised concerns about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill with the Government of Uganda, stressing the need for the protection of LGBT individuals and civil society organisations, and supported groups promoting LGBT rights.

EDUCATION

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Elizabeth Truss: The following table shows the number and proportion of female and male employees who have received a promotion in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			  Financial year  
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Total 
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % 
			 Female 324 64.0 63 56.3 50 61.0 152 60.1 153 61.7 742 61.8 
			 Male 182 36.0 49 43.8 32 39.0 101 39.9 95 38.3 459 38.2

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Elizabeth Truss: The following table shows the number and proportion of civil servants promoted in the last five years who identified as white or black and minority ethnic (BME), along with the proportion choosing not to declare their ethnicity.
	
		
			  Financial year  
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Total 
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % 
			 BME 61 12.1 13 11.6 7 8.5 28 11.1 28 11.3 137 11.4 
			 White 300 59.3 50 44.6 62 75.6 180 71.1 153 61.7 745 62.0 
			 Not declared 145 28.7 49 43.8 13 15.9 45 17.8 67 27.0 319 26.6

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Elizabeth Truss: The following table shows a breakdown of disabled and non-disabled staff and those not declared who have received a promotion in the past five financial years. For confidentiality numbers below five are not shown and all other numbers, except the total row, are rounded to the nearest five. Percentages are based on rounded numbers and may not add up to 100%.
	
		
			  Financial year  
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Total 
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % 
			 Total 506 — 112 — 82 — 253 — 248 — 1,201 — 
			 Non-disabled 460 91 80 71 65 79 170 67 125 50 900 75 
			 Disabled 15 3 5 4 <5 — 20 8 10 4 45 4 
			 Not declared 35 7 25 22 15 18 65 26 115 46 255 21

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what methodologies his Department uses to assess the value for money of each free school capital budget.

Edward Timpson: When assessing the value for money of a proposed free school budget, the Department for Education considers factors including the size, suitability and cost of the site, the associated purchase, refurbishment and build costs; ongoing maintenance costs and the time required to complete the project.

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what difference in value for money of free school capital budgets there is between (a) London and (b) the rest of England.

Edward Timpson: We achieve the best value for money we possibly can in all our free school projects regardless of their location.
	In terms of affordability, those in London and the south-east, where property and land values are higher, do of course tend to cost more than other parts of the country.
	Capital budgets are assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account factors including location and availability of sites.

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the statistics published by his Department that demonstrate that a lower percentage than the average of children eligible for free school meals attend free schools compared with state primary schools.

David Laws: It is too early in the lifetime of individual free schools to draw any firm conclusions. Although school census information shows the proportion of pupils in primary free schools is slightly below the national average, the opposite is true at secondary level. Having established 45% of free schools in the 30% most deprived communities we expect that free schools will become a popular choice for parents and pupils from deprived backgrounds.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work.

Elizabeth Truss: In the period between 2008-09 and 2012-13, 92% of staff who took maternity leave from the Department for Education returned to work. A full breakdown of the proportion of staff taking maternity leave who returned to work is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 DfE maternity leave 2008-09 to 2012-13 
			  Percentage of staff returning from maternity leave 
			 Total 92 
			 2012-13 91 
			 2011-12 90 
			 2010-11 84 
			 2009-10 97 
			 2008-09 96 
		
	
	During the 2013-14 financial year to date, 94 staff have taken maternity leave. 91 staff are still within the nine-month statutory maternity period, and information on their returning to work is not available. Of the remaining three staff, one has returned to work.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the civil service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: Between 2008-09 and 2012-13 approximately 100% of staff who left the Department for Education on maternity leave were still employed in the Department six months after returning, and 98% were still employed in the Department 12 months after returning. Of staff going on maternity leave during the 2013-14 financial year to date, one member of staff has returned to the Department and remains employed by the Department.
	Data presented on ongoing employment are only based on employment within Department for Education and not the wider civil service.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has two properties, Castle View House, Runcorn and Kenwood Park Road, Sheffield in which nurseries are located. Both were in operation at 5 May 2010 and at 5 February 2014. As part of the Department's aim to reduce costs, the Department is reducing its estate. As such, Castle View House, Runcorn was vacated by the Department for Education during February 2014 and will close in March 2014.
	The leases for both nurseries expire during 2014/15 and it is anticipated that both will vacate at that time.

Pre-school Education: Greater London

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether the Government’s £8 million fund to increase supply of early education places in London has been distributed to local authorities; and how much each local authority has received;
	(2)  how much match funding the Government’s £8 million investment in the expansion of early years places in London has generated in each local authority area.

Elizabeth Truss: Local authorities were notified of their allocations in December 2013. The information is available on gov.uk via the following link:
	http://bit.ly/MUfYcL
	The funding will form part of the next dedicated schools grant allocation for 2013-14 which will be paid to local authorities on 5 March.
	It is for individual London authorities to determine how best to use their allocation to expand the provision for two, three and four-year-olds. We are encouraging local authorities to support school nurseries to open from 8 am to 6 pm and offer more flexible hours for parents. This will enable more parents to take their free 15 hours of early education for two, three and four-year-olds at convenient times. In using the funding available, individual local authorities will determine the scale of match funding schemes depending on local demand and circumstances. The Department for Education does not collect information centrally on this.

Private Education: Offences Against Children

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many reports of child abuse in independent schools have come to the attention of his Department in the last 12 months;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2014, Official Report, column 189W, on private education: offences against children, how many allegations of cases of child abuse at independent schools he is aware of.

Edward Timpson: Independent Schools, like all employers of people working with children, have a statutory duty to refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) all individuals who have been:
	1. convicted or cautioned for a relevant offence;
	2. engaged in conduct that has harmed a child or put them at risk of harm; or
	3. deemed to have satisfied the Harm Test in relation to children i.e. there has been no relevant conduct but a risk of harm to a child still exists.
	The DBS will then consider whether to bar that person from working with children. In addition to this, where a teacher has been dismissed or resigned in the face of dismissal for a serious conduct matter, employers also have a statutory duty to consider referring that teacher to the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL)—an executive agency of the Department for Education. In the most serious cases, the DBS decides to bar an individual, at which point any ongoing NCTL case would be discontinued. The NCTL primarily takes to their conclusion cases which have not met the DBS threshold for barring.
	Since the NCTL was established in April 2012, it has received 29 referrals of alleged incidents in independent schools which meet the definition of child abuse as set out in the guidance document ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children March 2013’. The definition covers a range of alleged behaviour from a teacher using excessive force on a pupil through to sexual misconduct. 14 of these 29 referrals have occurred in the last 12 months. In each case, the NCTL assesses the information received and, where required, launches an investigation into whether the individual concerned should be prohibited from teaching on the grounds of unacceptable professional conduct, conduct that might bring the profession into disrepute and/or conviction of a relevant offence.
	Under arrangements established by the previous Government, teacher regulation was the responsibility of the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) and all registered teachers fell within their jurisdiction. However, there was no requirement for teachers in independent schools to be registered, so many teachers in independent schools fell outside professional regulation. We have strengthened regulations so that the NCTL now has the power to regulate all teachers in independent schools. As a result of these gaps in the regulation of teachers in independent schools prior to April 2012, comparable data are not available before that date.
	Separate to the NCTL process for regulating teachers, the Department's Independent Education and Boarding Team (IEBT) administers the wider regulatory system for independent schools. This team can receive information about allegations of abuse from a variety of sources, including Ofsted, local authorities, parents and the police. There have been 22 such referrals since April 2012, including 14 in the last 12 months.
	In the first instance, the Department will ensure that the actual allegations are being investigated by relevant authorities—the local authority and, where appropriate, the police. It is then the Department's role to ensure that the school in question is meeting the Independent School Standards. This will normally be done by commissioning an inspection and, where a school is found not to be meeting the standards, taking action to ensure it does so as soon as possible or, if necessary, is closed. In all 22 cases referred to above, an inspection was commissioned, or the allegation was taken into account in a scheduled inspection which was about to take place.
	It should be noted that these figures, for both NCTL and IEBT refer to allegations of child abuse prior to investigation, not confirmed cases. All referrals to both the NCTL and IEBT have been assessed and appropriate action has already been taken or is currently in the process of being taken.

Pupils: Absenteeism

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will conduct an investigation into the reasons why pupils are being removed from school rolls before completing GCSE courses.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has no plans to conduct such an investigation.
	A pupil can only lawfully be deleted from the admission register in accordance with the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended. Schools must ensure all the conditions of the grounds prescribed are met before the pupil can be deleted from the register. Schools must not delete a pupil from the register for any other reason than the grounds prescribed.
	The proprietor of a school who fails to comply with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended, is guilty of an offence and can be prosecuted under section 434(6) of the Education Act 1996.
	The Department will only remove a pupil from a school’s performance table measures in specific circumstances and where a request is supported by evidence from their local authority and education welfare services. All requests are carefully scrutinised by the Department.

Pupils: Bullying

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he has issued to schools on tackling (a) gender-based bullying and (b) sexual harassment; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education issued revised advice to schools in 2011 on preventing and tackling bullying, which covers all forms of discrimination and harassment under the Equality Act 2010.
	The Government has made clear to schools that all forms of bullying, for whatever reason, should never be tolerated in schools.
	Section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 for maintained schools and the Independent Schools Standards Regulations 2010 for Academies and Free Schools requires that all schools must have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils, including gender-based bullying. Schools have the freedom to shape these measures in the context of their particular circumstances.
	Ofsted also holds schools clearly to account for their effectiveness in dealing with pupil behaviour, which includes bullying. Under the current Ofsted framework introduced in 2012, school inspectors consider pupil behaviour and safety, which includes how well schools prevent bullying, harassment and discrimination.
	The Government has issued statutory guidance for schools, when teaching about sex and relationships, which makes clear that schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour. The guidance covers a range of issues about sex and relationships, including how to avoid exploitation and abuse, and how the law applies to sexual relationships.
	In addition, the Department is funding the Personal Social Health and Economics (PSHE) Association to develop specific guidance to help schools teach about consent. The association has published a draft of the guidance and is currently reviewing feedback and comments.
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), also expects to publish updated statutory safeguarding guidance to replace ‘Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education’ shortly. The updated guidance is expected to refer schools and colleges to sources of expert, practical advice on specific safeguarding issues such as bullying.

Schools: Standards

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps parents can take to require action to tackle failing performance in (a) local authority schools, (b) academies and (c) free schools.

David Laws: Section 29 of the Education Act 2002 requires the governing body of all maintained schools and nursery schools in England to have in place a procedure to deal with complaints relating to a school. The day-to-day running of a maintained school is the responsibility of the head teacher, the governing body and the local authority. It is recommended parents put their concerns in writing to the head teacher and, if this fails to resolve the issue, concerns should then be raised with the chair of governors. Some local authorities may also have a complaints procedure available. A complaint may be made to the Secretary of State for Education if a parent believes a governing body or local authority is acting unreasonably or is failing to carry out its statutory duties properly.
	Academies and free schools must also have a complaints procedure which complies with The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2010. Parents should raise complaints initially with the head teacher or the academy trust. If this fails to resolve the issue, parents can forward their complaint to The Education Funding Agency.
	Parents may also complain to Ofsted about schools. Ofsted will not normally investigate individual cases but will consider concerns which affect the whole school.

Science: GCE A-level

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from the scientific and engineering communities on Ofqual's proposal to reform the A-level science curriculum by separating non-examined assessment from the final grade awarded to students.

Elizabeth Truss: Ofqual has recently consulted on whether the outcomes of the practical assessment should contribute to the overall A level science grade. The Department for Education has separately hosted a consultation on the content for A level sciences. A number of organisations included views about the separate reporting of practical skills In A level science in their responses to the Department.
	Ofqual is due to announce its decision on the assessment of practical skills in science in the spring.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Michael Penning: The following table shows the proportion of civil servants who were promoted as (a) male and (b) female in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) during the last five years:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Gender 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Female 66.0 65.4 59.6 67.5 63.9 
			 Male 34.0 34.6 40.4 32.5 36.1 
		
	
	The following tables show the proportion of civil servants who were promoted as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) during the last five years:
	
		
			 Volumes 
			 Ethnicity 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Ethnic minority 445 367 21 80 147 
			 Survey not completed 1,142 990 90 183 489 
			 Unclear response 0 4 0 0 3 
			 White 4,633 2,997 265 321 1,199 
			 Total 6,220 4,358 376 584 1,838 
			 Total declared 5,078 3,364 286 401 1,346 
		
	
	
		
			 Proportions 
			 Ethnicity 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Ethnic minority 8.8 10.9 7.3 20.0 10.9 
			 White 91.2 89.1 92.7 80.0 89.1 
		
	
	The following tables show the proportion of civil servants who were promoted as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP during the year:
	
		
			 Volumes 
			 Disability 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Disabled 232 159 15 22 57 
			 Non-disabled 5,605 3,641 282 378 1,266 
			 Unknown 383 558 79 184 515 
			 Total 6,220 4,358 376 584 1,838 
			 Total declared 5,837 3,800 297 400 1,323 
		
	
	
		
			 Proportions 
			 Disability 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Disabled 4.0 4.2 5.1 5.5 4.3 
			 Non-disabled 96.0 95.8 94.9 94.5 95.7

Carer’s Allowance

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of carers that do not claim carers' allowance in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow City, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Michael Penning: The information requested is not available.

Carer’s Allowance

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to (a) increase awareness of carers' allowance and (b) improve information on how to claim carers' allowance.

Michael Penning: The Department is constantly improving the way it communicates information about carer's allowance to the general public.
	Information and advice about entitlement to carer's allowance is available from an increasing range of outlets including Jobcentre Plus offices, DWP and other help lines, the Government website
	www.gov.uk
	other internet sites, local authorities, Citizens Advice and welfare benefit offices, voluntary organisations like Carers UK, public libraries, health clinics, doctors' surgeries and health visitors. In addition, officials from the Department's carer's allowance unit discuss carer's allowance issues at outreach events across the country.

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  when he will commence section 34 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008;
	(2)  with reference to the recommendation made by the Independent Advisory Panel on Arrears of Child Maintenance, in its 2011 report, what work his Department has done to carry out a renewed soft market sounding or sampling exercise to test the sale potential of Secretary of State and arrears only cases.

Steve Webb: The Department's January 2013 publication, "Preparing for the future, tackling the past? Child Maintenance—Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012 to 2017” explains within paragraph 12 of Section 3.2 “Child Support Agency: Collecting outstanding arrears”, that due to the extremely low amount which would be offered by debt companies to parents with care who were owed the arrears (around 4% of the total owed), it does not seem sensible to pursue this option at this stage. In the case of arrears owed to the Secretary of State, we are still exploring whether an economically viable way of selling this debt can be devised.
	The Child Maintenance—Arrears and Compliance Strategy 2012 to 2017 is available on the gov.uk website at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-future-tackling-the-past-child-maintenance-arrears-and-compliance-strategy-2012-to-2017

Employment and Support Allowance

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will ensure that anyone with a prognosis of being unlikely to return to work in the longer term because of a progressive illness is placed into the support group rather than allocated to the work-related activity group.

Michael Penning: Claimants for employment and support allowance, including those claimants with progressive illnesses, will be placed in the Support Group if they meet the necessary criteria.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of each benefit type were referred to Work Choice in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The requested figures are published within table 5 on page 16 of the latest Work Choice Official Statistics publication at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277235/work-choice-statistics-feb-2014.pdf

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people in England to whom the under-occupancy penalty was incorrectly charged; and what his policy is on the payment of compensation to such people.

Esther McVey: The information for England is not available.
	The Department does not hold all the detailed information needed to make a precise estimate of the numbers affected. On the basis of the information available to us in the housing benefit administrative data collected from local authorities, we estimate the numbers affected are likely to be fewer than 5,000 nationally, but there is considerable uncertainty around this estimate.
	Local authorities administer housing benefit. Any compensation request must therefore be considered by local authorities who will decide whether additional money can be paid on top of the housing benefit arrears because of late payment.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Services

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the future provision of freephones at jobcentres.

Esther McVey: All jobcentres have free telephony services for those claimants who require it in support of their benefit claim or job search.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average administrative cost to his Department was of imposing a sanction on a claimant of jobseeker's allowance in the most recent period for which data is available; and what the total cost of imposing all such sanctions was in each year since 2010.

Esther McVey: The information is not available in the format requested.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants with refugee status in (a) Hull and (b) the UK have been sanctioned since 22 October 2012.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many new claims for (a) income-based jobseeker's allowance, (b) contributions-based jobseeker's allowance and (c) both income-based and contributions-based jobseeker's allowance were made in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what proportion of all claims for (a) income-based jobseeker's allowance, (b) contributions-based jobseeker's allowance and (c) both income-based and contributions-based jobseeker's allowance over the last 10 years have lasted for (i) less than three months, (ii) between three and six months, (iii) between six and 12 months, (iv) between one and two years and (v) more than two years.

Esther McVey: The volume of claims made for jobseeker's allowance over the last six years by type of claim, for Great Britain, are:
	
		
			  (a) Income-based jobseeker's allowance only (b) Contributory jobseeker's allowance only (c) Both contributory and income-based jobseeker's allowance 
			 2007-08 1,476,000 710,000 52,000 
			 2008-09 1,808,000 1,176,000 79,000 
			 2009-10 2,108,000 1,344,000 89,000 
			 2010-11 2,276,000 1,038,000 95,000 
			 2011-12 2,302,000 916,000 69,000 
			 2012-13 2,322,000 804,000 59,000 
		
	
	Information about the on-flows in the four previous years requested will be placed in the Library.
	Information about the proportion of the jobseeker's allowance claims lasting for various lengths of time by claim type will be placed in the Library.
	Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.
	Sources:
	Office for National Statistics Claimant Count Series: Great Britain Non-Seasonally Adjusted On-flows.
	Department for Work and Pensions 100% administrative data.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work;
	(2)  what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The following table shows the proportion of civil servants who took maternity leave in the year that have returned to work in the Department. The Department has only collected this information since 2010.
	
		
			 As at 1 April to 31 March each year Percentage of employees starting maternity leave in the period who have returned to work 
			 2010-11 100 
			 2011-12 97.1 
			 2012-13 99.8 
		
	
	All DWP employees are entitled to unpaid departmental maternity leave of 52 weeks.
	Employees who have completed 26 weeks but less than one year of continuous service, by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, are entitled to 39 weeks Statutory Maternity Pay. Which is six weeks at 90% of pay, followed by 33 weeks at Statutory Maternity Pay level.
	Employees who have completed more than one year's paid service (including temporary service) when their maternity leave starts may be eligible for 26 weeks departmental maternity pay (DMP) paid at their normal rate of pay, followed by 13 weeks Statutory Maternity Pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid maternity leave.
	The following table shows the proportion of civil servants who returned from maternity leave in the year and were still employed in the civil service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work. This data is available for the last three years, as the Department has collected this information only since 2010.
	
		
			  Percentage of employees still employed: 
			 As at 1 April to 31 March each year Six months after returning from maternity leave 12 months after returning from maternity leave 
			 2010-11 99.8 99.8 
			 2011-12 99.3 97.6 
			 2012-13 99.4 97.6

Mesothelioma

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether successors in title to insurers who maintained employer's liability insurance schemes will be liable to contribute to the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme.

Michael Penning: The insurers liable to pay the levy, and therefore contribute towards the cost of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, are “active insurers” as defined by section 13(7) of the Mesothelioma Act 2014. These insurers are those who were authorised by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to carry out contracts of employers' liability insurance in a particular period. That period is “the reference period” which will be set out in regulations.
	It follows that if an active insurer has succeeded to the liabilities of another insurer they will be liable to contribute to the levy.

National Insurance

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking against unofficial websites offering services relating to the application for national insurance numbers.

Esther McVey: DWP is currently working alongside other Government Departments to examine whether action can be taken against unofficial/misleading websites.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (a) 5 May 2010 and (b) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Michael Penning: There were seven workplace nurseries operated by third parties on DWP premises on 5 May 2010, all of which were still in operation on 5 February 2014. DWP does not directly operate any workplace nurseries.

Pensions Regulator

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 11W, on Pensions Regulator, 
	(1)  how many companies have been investigated by the Pensions Regulator and had no subsequent action taken against them in the last five years;
	(2)  what the companies involved in the three cases were.

Steve Webb: In the last five years, the Pensions Regulator has considered the use of anti avoidance powers, but took no action in three cases. These cases concerned 26 employers based outside the United Kingdom.
	The three cases in which the Regulator successfully took action (to which my earlier answer referred) concerned two employers, Sea Containers Ltd, and Bonas UK Ltd. Further information on these cases is available on the Pension Regulator's website at:
	www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/press/PN08-02.aspx
	and
	www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/press/pn11-11.aspx

Personal Independence Payment

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of personal independence payments claims which were not made under the special rules for terminally ill people, were withdrawn by claimants resident in (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (b) the North East and (c) England in each month for which records are available.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people who have indicated that they have a neurological condition have (a) applied for personal independence payment and (b) received a decision on their claim between April and December 2013;
	(2)  how many people who indicated they have Parkinson's (a) applied for personal independence payment and (b) received a decision about their claim between April and December 2013.

Michael Penning: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) started from April 2013 and although limited data has started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284330/pip_stats_release_strategy_feb14.pdf
	An ad hoc release of PIP information was published on Tuesday 11 February 2014.

Personal Independence Payment

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  in what proportion of personal independence payment cases assessment providers are seeking additional evidence;
	(2)  in what proportion of personal independence payment cases evidence is returned in time to be used to (a) determine the nature and suitability of their assessment and (b) inform the assessor's picture of how a person's disability affects them.

Michael Penning: I am currently unable to provide data on the proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) cases where assessment providers are seeking additional evidence. PIP started from April 2013 and although limited data have started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. Management information on cases where evidence is sought is reported to the Department by assessment providers based on information recorded on their own IT systems and has not been subject to validation by the Department.
	Information on whether evidence is returned in advance of assessment activity being carried out is not held by the Department.

Personal Independence Payment

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will publish disaggregated data on new claims for personal independence payments between 8 April 2013 and 3 December 2013;
	(2)  how many people who indicated between April and December 2013 they had multiple sclerosis have (a) applied for personal independence payment and (b) received a decision about their claim.

Michael Penning: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) started from April 2013; we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284330/pip_stats_release_strategy_feb14.pdf
	An ad hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.

Social Security Benefits

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many new claims for (a) income-based incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance, (b) contributions-based incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance, (c) both income-based and contributions-based incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance were made in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what proportion of all claims for (a) income-based incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance, (b) contributions-based incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance and (c) both income-based and contributions-based incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance over the last 10 years have lasted for (i) less than three months, (ii) between three and six months, (iii) between six and 12 months, (iv) between one and two years and (v) more than two years.

Esther McVey: Statistics for employment and support allowance (ESA) on-flows by payment type from 2009 to August 2013 can be found using the following link:
	Statistics for employment and support allowance (ESA) off-flows by payment type and duration of the claim can also be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance
	Each year has to be extracted individually and the proportions of all on-flows and off-flows can be calculated using this data.
	Incapacity benefit is a contributory benefit and is paid to people who are assessed as being incapable of work and who meet certain contribution conditions. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit in October 2008.

Social Security Benefits: West Lothian

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions have been enacted by Jobcentre Plus in (a) Livingston constituency and (b) West Lothian local authority area in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The number of adverse sanctions in Livingston parliamentary constituency for the period October 2012 to September 2013 is 2,015 and the number of adverse sanctions in West Lothian local authority for the period October 2012 to September 2013 is 3,175.
	The number of sanctions applied is the number of sanction referrals where the decision was found against the claimant for jobseekers allowance, employment and support allowance and income support. Sanctions data up to September 2013 are the latest data available.
	This information on jobseekers allowance, employment and support allowance is published and available at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

State Retirement Pensions

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart over unfreezing the annual uprating of state pensions of UK citizens living in Canada and Canadian citizens living in the UK;
	(2)  what plans he has to unfreeze the annual uprating of the state pension for UK citizens living in Canada.

Steve Webb: The most recent exchange of correspondence with the Canadian Government on the issue of up-rating UK state pensions for those living in Canada was between the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) and Diane Finley on 6 June 2013. The Secretary of State confirmed that the UK Government has no plans to relax the current restrictions on up-rating UK state pensions paid overseas or to enter into fresh bilateral agreements which provide for up-ratings overseas.
	Around 155,000 UK state pensions are currently paid to people living in Canada at a cost of around £280 million year. Paying these state pensions at the applicable rate in the UK would cost around an additional £160 million a year in 2014-15, rising in future years.
	The eligibility criteria and operating arrangements for the Canadian Pension Plan (the equivalent of UK State Pension) including the criteria of where it is paid and the level at which it is paid overseas are matters for the Canadian Government. However, UK pensions paid to Canadian citizens living in the UK are up-rated regardless of whether they are derived from UK contributions or from periods of residence in lieu of UK contributions under the terms of the UK's bilateral agreement with Canada.

Unemployment Benefits

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of the requirement for claimants to demonstrate availability to work on their right to a holiday from signing on; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: Jobseekers allowance claimants can be treated as actively seeking employment for a maximum of two benefit weeks in a 12-month period if they are away from home, still in Great Britain and do not intend to look for work while they are away. However, they must be available for work, ie willing to return immediately for an interview or to start work for the period they are.

Winter Fuel Payments: British Nationals Abroad

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of senior citizens who have not been primarily resident in the UK for five years or more that are still eligible for winter fuel payments.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.

Work Programme: West Lothian

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have found work lasting six months or longer through the Work Programme in (a) Livingston constituency and (b) West Lothian local authority area in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The Work programme is designed to support people into sustainable work. This is assessed by recording Job Outcomes, which is when participants have been in work for six months (or three months for ESA).
	The available information on job outcomes is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 Number of Work programme Job Outcomes for payment groups 1, 2 and 9 by employment duration and area in the period October 2012 to September 2013 
			 Area Total with duration of 26 weeks or over 
			 Great Britain 110,950 
			 West Lothian local authority 280 
			 Livingston parliamentary constituency 170 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of Work programme Job Outcomes for payment groups 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 by employment duration and area in the period October 2012 to September 2013 
			  Employment duration 
			 Area Total 13 weeks up to 25 weeks Over 25 weeks 
			 Great Britain 42,580 17,210 25,370 
			 West Lothian local authority 200 90 120 
			 Livingston parliamentary constituency 130 50 80 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are cumulative and are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Job Outcomes: the Work Programme IT payment system was updated on 26 March 2012 and validation processes introduced in April 2012. The early data series following this was subject to fluctuations as the new system and processes bedded in. For further details please see section 4.1 of the information note available on the Work programme Official Statistics homepage at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-programme-official-statistics-background-information-note 3. Payment Group: Payment groups are assigned by Jobcentre Plus, on the basis of a claimant's circumstances, and benefit they receive. For more information on the payment groups, when they commenced and inconsistencies please see the information note available on the Work programme Official Statistics homepage at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-programme-official-statistics-background-information-note 4. Employment Duration: Employment duration is defined as the number of weeks required to claim a Job Outcome plus the number of weeks for which sustainment payments have been made. For example a job outcome paid for a customer in payment group 1 with one additional sustainment payment will have been in employment for 30 weeks up to 34 weeks. 5. Job Outcome payments: A Job Outcome payment can be claimed when employment duration of six months is identified where: A Job Outcome payment has been made for a customer in payment group 1, 2 or 9 (at least 26 weeks in employment); A Job Outcome payment and three sustainment payments have been made for a customer in Payment Group 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 (at least 25 weeks in employment). There has been either a continuous or cumulative period of employment (Job Outcome payment trigger point) of 13 weeks for payment groups 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and 26 weeks for payment groups 1, 2 and 9; A participant has been in employment and off benefit in each week of the period (a week is defined as a seven day period); and The Job Outcome is after the job start date, i.e. a Job Outcome payment can only be claimed when a participant starts a job after Attachment Activity has been recorded on DWP prescribed IT or clerical system. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate (IGS)

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Oliver Heald: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Proportion of staff promoted by gender 
			 Percentage 
			  Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol)1 Serious Fraud Office Crown Prosecution Service2 
			  Male Female Male Female Male Female 
			 2009 33.3 66.7 76.2 23.8 — — 
			 2010 37.8 62.2 59.1 40.9 — — 
			 2011 45.1 54.9 55 45 34.8 65.2 
			 2012 50.5 49.5 57.7 42.3 41.0 59.0 
			 2013 40.0 60.0 70 30 39.0 61.0 
			 1 TSol data also covers the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. 2 Data is not available prior to April 2011 as the legacy systems in place at that time did not collect this data in a way which was reportable.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Oliver Heald: The proportion of civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments promoted in each of the last five years, who had declared themselves as white or from any other ethnic minority group is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol)1 Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)2 
			  White British Ethnic Minority Group White3 Ethnic Minority Group White3 Ethnic Minority Group 
			 2009 52.8 36.1 66.7 19 — — 
			 2010 60.0 28.9 81.8 13.6 — — 
			 2011 56.9 21.6 72.2 22.2 69.6 17.4 
			 2012 58.6 25.3 65.4 23.1 70.5 19.4 
		
	
	
		
			 2013 62.7 24.5 45 25 76.2 12.8 
			 1 TSol data also covers the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. 2 Data is not available prior to April 2011 as the legacy systems in place at that time did not collect this data in a way which was reportable. 3 This data cannot be broken down to show individuals declared as 'White British' only.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of civil servants in the Law Officers’ Departments who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Oliver Heald: The proportion of civil servants in the Law Officers’ Departments promoted in each of the last five years, who had declared themselves as disabled or non-disabled is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol)1 Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)2 
			  Disabled Non-disabled Disabled Non -disabled Disabled Non-disabled 
			 2009 2.8 83.3 0 80.9 — — 
			 2010 2.2 84.4 4.5 91 — — 
			 2011 5.9 82.4 5.6 94.4 4.3 88.4 
			 2012 5.1 77.8 4.3 88.5 3.6 89.9 
			 2013 5.5 83.6 5 75 3.0 92.1 
			 1 TSol data also covers the Attorney-General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. 2 Data is not available prior to April 2011 as the legacy systems in place at that time did not collect this data in a way which was reportable. 
		
	
	As with the rest of the civil service, the Law Officers’ Departments are committed to giving all disabled employees the support they need to work effectively and comfortably, and to their full potential. We recruit through fair and open competition—ensuring that all disabled applicants receive a guaranteed interview if they meet the minimum criteria for any advertised post. We also consult with applicants before interview and make any reasonable adjustments for the interview/selection process. Once an applicant has successfully passed the interview and joined the civil service, we will make any further reasonable adjustments to help them in their day-to-day work.

Hunting: Prosecutions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions for illegal taking of game there have been in the UK in each of the last three years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not collect data on defendants prosecuted by specific offences, information is available for the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in magistrates’ courts. There is no indication of the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. It is often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence.
	The following table contains data on the number of offences that reached a first hearing in magistrates courts for each of the last three years.
	
		
			 Act Offence 2011-12 2012-13 2013-141 
			 Game Act 1831 (3) Taking game out of season 1 0 0 
			 Game Act 1831 (30) Daytime trespass in pursuit of game—poaching 232 256 183 
			 Game Act 1831 (30) Daytime trespass by five or more in pursuit of game 52 37 35 
			 Night Poaching Act 1828 (1) Trespass on land at night and take/destroy game 12 9 2 
			 Night Poaching Act 1828 (1) Trespass on land at night and take/destroy a rabbit or rabbits 19 19 18 
			 Night Poaching Act 1828 ( ) Enter on/were on land as a trespasser at night with a gun to take/destroy game with a gun 4 4 0 
			 Night Poaching Act 1828 (1) Enter land as a trespasser at night with poaching equipment 21 42 28 
			 Poaching Prevention Act 1862 (2) Found by constable in possession of game coming from land 5 3 0 
			 Poaching Prevention Act 1862 (2) Come from land possessing article for killing/taking game 12 12 12 
			 Total  358 382 278 
			 1 April 2013 to January 2014. 
		
	
	The CPS does not collect data which constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. This data has been drawn from the CPS’s administrative IT system, which (as with any large scale recording system) is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of civil servants in the Law Officers’ Departments’ who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work.

Oliver Heald: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			 Proportion of staff returning to work following maternity leave 
			 Percentage 
			  Department 
			  TSol1 SFO CPS2 
			 2009 90 100 98.75 
			 2010 97 100 99.59 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 97 100 96.33 
			 2012 88 100 99.13 
			 2013 98 3— 97.57 
			 1 TSo1 data also covers the Attorney-General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. 2 This data is drawn from the CPS I-Trent HR database and may be subject to change due to retrospective changes made in the future. 3 All SFO staff who took maternity leave in 2013 are still on leave but have indicated that they plan to return to work.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Attorney-General what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in the Law Officers' Departments.

Oliver Heald: Staff in the Treasury Solicitor's Department who have completed at least one year's paid continuous service by the beginning of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth or at the time their maternity leave begins and who intend to return to work may continue to be paid their wages or salary. The duration of contractual maternity pay is 26 weeks. The same arrangements cover staff in the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.
	In the Serious Fraud Office an employee who has one year's continuous paid service at the SFO by the start of the expected week of childbirth, is entitled to full pay for the first 26 weeks of maternity leave. This is inclusive of Statutory Maternity Pay. Thereafter they receive their statutory maternity pay. Employees with less than one year's continuous service receive their statutory entitlement.
	The standard duration of contractual maternity pay paid to employees on Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) terms and conditions of service is 26 weeks. Contractual maternity pay is paid at the employee's normal salary rate.
	For the 13 female CPS employees who retain reserved rights to the former Revenue Customs Prosecutions Office or Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs terms and conditions of service, the duration of contractual maternity pay is 39 weeks and is payable at the employee's normal salary rate.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Attorney-General how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by the Law Officers' Departments' and (b) operated by a third party on the Law Officers' Departments' property there were at (a) 5 May 2010 and (b) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Oliver Heald: There have been no work place nurseries directly operated by the Law Officers' Departments or by third parties on their premises since May 2010.
	However, all of the Law Officers' Departments provide permanent staff with access to salary sacrifice child care voucher schemes as part of employee benefit packages. These enable staff to choose their own child care provider and to have their child care costs reduced as a result of tax savings.

SCOTLAND

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not recruit or employ staff directly. All staff that join the Office do so on assignment, secondment or loan from other Government bodies. Information relating to civil servants on maternity leave is not held by this Office but would be retained by the parent bodies.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (a) 5 May 2010 and (b) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

David Mundell: Neither the Scotland Office nor any third party operates a workplace nursery now or since 2010.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Polling Stations

Bob Neill: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has produced on the practice of allowing foreign language translators into polling stations to advise individual electors on how to cast their vote.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that only specified people are allowed to be present in polling stations. The returning officer (RO) may employ presiding officers or poll clerks who speak community languages, or may specifically employ staff for the purpose of translating or interpreting in polling stations. These staff may only provide electors with general assistance on the process of voting in a polling station.
	All polling station staff should act impartially at all times and should never advise voters which candidate or party to vote for.
	The Commission's guidance for ROs includes a template briefing to assist ROs in ensuring that all polling station staff are trained in their duties and responsibilities and a comprehensive polling station handbook. These are available on the Commission's website:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/powerpoint_doc/0009/164295/EPE-Briefing-for-polling-station-staff.ppt?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=search_clean
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/164278/EPE-LGE-Polling-station-handbook.pdf

Polling Stations

Bob Neill: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of which local authorities allow foreign language translators into polling stations to advise individual electors on how to cast their vote.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not make any assessment of which ROs use staff with particular language skills in their polling stations. Translators are only allowed to be present in polling stations if they have been employed by the returning officer for the purpose of providing electors with general assistance on the process of voting in a polling station. They are not permitted to advise electors on how to cast their vote, i.e. which candidate or party to vote for.

Polling Stations

Bob Neill: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent representations the Electoral Commission has received on the London Borough of Tower Hamlets allowing foreign language translators into polling stations to advise individual electors.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not received any recent representations on the use of foreign language translators in polling stations for elections in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. The Commission is in regular contact with the returning officer for Tower Hamlets who does employ some presiding officers or poll clerks who speak community languages, but these staff may only provide electors with general assistance on the process of voting. The Commission's guidance makes clear that staff in polling stations are not permitted to advise electors on which candidate or party to vote for.
	The Commission will continue to work with the returning officer for Tower Hamlets to ensure that polling station staff have absolute clarity about the limits of any translation assistance that they may provide and that these limits are adhered to.

WALES

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Stephen Crabb: The number of civil servants who were promoted in the Wales Office during the last five years, and the proportion who were male and female, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of staff promoted Percentage male Percentage female 
			 2009 16 69 31 
			 2010 3 33 67 
			 2011 2 0 100 
			 2012 9 44 56 
			 2013 1 0 100

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Stephen Crabb: The number of civil servants who were promoted in the Wales Office during the last five years, and the proportion who identified themselves as white British and from other ethnic minority groups, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of staff promoted Percentage white British Percentage other ethnic minority group Percentage unknown or undeclared 
			 2009 16 62 0 38 
			 2010 3 33 0 67 
			 2011 2 50 0 50 
			 2012 9 87 0 13 
			 2013 1 100 0 0

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Stephen Crabb: The number of civil servants who were promoted in the Wales Office during the last five years, and the proportion who identified themselves as being disabled and non-disabled, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of staff promoted Percentage disabled Percentage non-disabled Percentage unknown or undeclared 
			 2009 16 0 62 38 
			 2010 3 33 33 34 
			 2011 2 0 50 50 
			 2012 9 0 87 13 
			 2013 1 0 100 0

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Stephen Crabb: Four staff have taken maternity leave in the last five years. One staff member returned to work in each of the following financial years: 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13, and the fourth is due to return in 2014-15 after opting for an extended career break immediately after maternity leave. Of the three who had already returned, all were still employed in the civil service 12 months after returning to work.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office does not have any direct employees. Staff at the Wales Office are subject to Ministry of Justice policies for pay purposes.
	The Ministry of Justice pays occupational maternity pay to eligible employees for up to 39 weeks. The first 26 weeks are at full contractual pay, and the following 13 weeks are at the lesser of either the standard weekly rate of statutory maternity pay or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right, and its staff are subject to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) child care policies. The MOJ policies include providing access to a salary sacrifice scheme for child care vouchers which enables employees to choose their own child care provider subject to meeting eligibility requirements.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Argentina

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development aid was provided to the Government of Argentina in 2013.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not have a bilateral aid programme in Argentina. No UK aid is currently provided directly to the Government of Argentina.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her policy is on reviewing financial aid levels to the British Overseas Territories.

Alan Duncan: The British Government is committed to meeting the “reasonable needs” of its Overseas Territories (OTs). DFID provides financial aid to help meet the recurrent costs of providing public services on Montserrat, St Helena and Pitcairn. It currently reviews this aid annually and agrees annual budget aid settlements. The portfolio of projects in the OTs, including their level of funding, is reviewed regularly.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of civil servants in her Department and non-departmental public body who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Alan Duncan: 411 staff have been promoted in DFID in the last five years. This is broken down as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Male 54 58 49 68 63 
			 Female 46 42 51 32 37 
		
	
	Fewer than five staff have been promoted within DFID's non-departmental public
	bodies. Due to the small number, providing this information could lead to personal data being released and would therefore breach the legitimate expectation of an individual's right to the protection of their personal information.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Alan Duncan: From the information available, the following proportions of civil servants promoted in DFID in each of the last five years were:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 White British 13.1 29.9 10.3 6.1 8.5 
			 Other ethnic minority 4.9 6.5 7.7 9.1 5.4 
		
	
	Information provided in ethnic minority data is provided only on a voluntary basis and information is available only on staff who have made this declaration.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Alan Duncan: Of the civil servants promoted in DFID in the last five years, 2.61% declared themselves as being disabled; 97.39% have not declared any disability. Members of staff are invited to declare their disability, but are not required to do so.
	Due to the small number of individuals declaring themselves as disabled, providing the information requested for each of the last five years could lead to individuals being identified and would therefore breach the legitimate expectation of an individual's right to protection of their personal information.

Commonwealth Scholarships Programme

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the (a) name and (b) country is of each current recipient of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.

Justine Greening: The names and countries of all Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows are published online, in a directory that is updated annually:
	http://bit.ly/cscuk-online-directory

Developing Countries: Water

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking with developing countries on reducing water pollution and increasing the quality and quantity of clean, safe water.

Lynne Featherstone: Through our support to country, regional and global water resources management programmes we are supporting developing countries improve water quantity and quality. For instance, the South Asia Water Initiative, funded by DFID has helped the World Bank in developing the Ganga Action Plan to reduce pollution in the Ganges.
	The Government has committed to provide sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene to 60 million people in developing countries. We are on track to meet this target, providing increased access to safe water to poor people in Africa and South Asia.

Eastern Europe

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid programmes the Government operates in Eastern Europe.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID no longer operates a development programme in Eastern Europe.

European Investment Bank

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer from the Department for International Development of 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 665W on European Investment Bank, when the EU funding guidelines, published on 19 July 2013, will be applied to loans to Israel from the European Investment Bank; and what recent discussions the UK representative on the European Investment Bank has had with him on this issue.

Alan Duncan: The European Union's Settlement Guidelines, published on 19 July 2013, apply to loans to Israel from the European Investment Bank (EIB) from January 2014 onwards. The guidelines do not apply retrospectively to loans signed prior to 2014. The UK representative keeps Ministers updated on EIB developments.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work.

Alan Duncan: Of the civil servants working at DFID who took maternity leave in the last five years, 97% have returned to work.
	Providing a breakdown for each year would incur disproportionate costs.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of civil servants in her Department and non-departmental public body who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the civil service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Alan Duncan: Of the civil servants working for DFID who have taken maternity leave in the last five years, 65% are still employed six months after their return to work and 53.4% are still employed 12 months after their return to work. These percentages do not include 17 staff still on maternity leave and a further 33 staff who have returned to work but who have not yet completed six months.
	Providing a breakdown for each year would incur disproportionate costs.
	No civil servants working in DFID's non-departmental public bodies have taken maternity leave in the last five years.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in her Department.

Alan Duncan: DFID offers staff the full statutory entitlement of up to 52 weeks' maternity leave. DFID gives eligible staff a top-up in addition to the statutory minimum, equivalent to their full pay for up to 26 weeks. This is followed by 13 weeks at statutory maternity pay rates with the remaining 13 weeks being unpaid.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by her Department and (b) operated by a third party on her Department's property there were at (a) 5 May 2010 and (b) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not operate, and has not contracted a third party to operate, any workplace nurseries on DFID property.

Palestinians

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions Ministers in her Department have visited Gaza in each of the last three years.

Alan Duncan: I have visited Gaza twice in the last three years, in December 2012 and April 2013.

Philippines

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she plans to take to ensure that funding given to the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan is spent on assistance to those directly affected.

Justine Greening: All DFID programmes include monitoring arrangements to continually assess effectiveness and impact and to ensure UK aid is getting to those most in need of assistance. Recipient organisations are closely monitored and are required to report regularly to DFID.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Theresa Villiers: My Department does not centrally hold figures for the period prior to 30 November 2012. For the period from 1 December 2012 to 28 February 2014, 18 members of staff were promoted of which 61% (11) were male and 39% (seven) female.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Theresa Villiers: To provide these details would incur disproportionate cost as my Department does not hold this information centrally.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Theresa Villiers: To provide these details would incur disproportionate cost as my Department does not hold this information centrally.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of civil servants in her Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work.

Theresa Villiers: Figures are not available centrally for the period prior to the completion of devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010.
	Since 12 April 2010, my Department has had seven members of staff on maternity leave. Of these, five (71%) returned to work, one (14.5%) returned to their home Department as their secondment ended during their maternity leave and one (14.5%) took a career break.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of civil servants in her Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Theresa Villiers: Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available following the completion of devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010.
	Since that date, seven members of my Department have been on maternity leave and all of them returned to the civil service and were still employed 12 months after their return.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in her Department.

Theresa Villiers: Staff employed by my Department come under the terms and conditions of the Ministry of Justice under which a member of staff receives their full salary for the first 26 weeks of their maternity leave. Staff on secondment from the Northern Ireland Civil Service to my Department receive 18 weeks contractual maternity pay.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by her Department and (b) operated by a third party on her Department's property there were at (a) 5 May 2010 and (b) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Theresa Villiers: Staff in my Department have access to a subsidised workplace nursery which is run by a third party provider. There are no current plans to change its operation.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Church of England

Anne McIntosh: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, when he last met the Rural Affairs Group of the Church of England.

Tony Baldry: I have not attended a meeting of the Rural Affairs Group of the Church of England. I am kept fully informed about the relevant issues concerning the committee when needed by the National Rural Officer and the Church of England’s Parliamentary Unit.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Gregory Barker: Prior to November 2010 the shared service provision for Human Resource in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was provided by two suppliers with data maintained in differing formats. Therefore data in a consistent format are only available from November 2010.
	The proportion of civil servants, by gender, who have been promoted within DECC in each of the years for which data are available is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 November to October each year Male Female 
			 2010-11 45 55 
			 2011-12 54 46 
			 2012-13 49 51

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Gregory Barker: Prior to November 2010 the shared service provision for Human Resource in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was provided by two suppliers with data maintained in differing formats. Therefore data in a consistent format are only available from November 2010.
	From November 2010 to January 2014, 63% of civil servants, who have been promoted within DECC, have declared a nationality and ethnicity status. The proportion of civil servants who have declared a nationality and ethnicity status and been promoted within DECC in each of the years for which data are available is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 November to October each year White British White other Other Ethnic Group Prefer not to say 
			 2010-11 84 7 9 — 
			 2011-12 80 3 17 — 
			 2012-13 73 8 18 1

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Gregory Barker: Prior to November 2010 the shared service provision for Human Resource in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was provided by two suppliers with data maintained in differing formats. Therefore data in a consistent format are only available from November 2010.
	From November 2010 to January 2014, 84% of civil servants, who have been promoted within DECC, have declared a disability status. The proportion of civil servants who have declared a disability status and been promoted within DECC in each of the years for which data are available is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 November to October each year Disabled Non-disabled Prefer not to say 
			 2010-11 4 95 1 
			 2011-12 10 87 3 
			 2012-13 6 90 4

Energy

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information Ofgem holds on the average call handling times for the energy customers of EDF, British Gas, Eon, NPower, SSE and Scottish Power.

Michael Fallon: Ofgem does not routinely collect information on call waiting times. However, Ofgem requires all suppliers to publish its complaints handling data on an annual basis.
	Ofgem does hold information on the call handling times of several suppliers. That information was obtained as a result of complaints handling investigations. As those investigations are ongoing, Ofgem is unable to share the details of that information.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of civil servants in his Department on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work.

Gregory Barker: Prior to November 2010 the Shared Service provision for Human Resource in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was provided by two suppliers with data maintained in differing formats. Therefore data in a consistent format is only available from November 2010.
	The proportion of civil servants, who have been on maternity leave in each of the years for which data is available and have returned to work, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 November to October each year Returned to work (%) 
			 2010-11 100 
			 2011-12 100 
			 2012-13 100

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the civil service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: Prior to November 2010 the Shared Service provision for Human Resource in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was provided by two suppliers with data maintained in differing formats. Therefore data in a consistent format is only available from November 2010.
	The proportion of civil servants who have been on maternity leave in each of the years for which data is available have returned to work and are still working in DECC after (a) six and (b)12 months, is shown in the following table. All of those who left DECC during this period were subject to loan agreements and have returned to their home Departments. DECC does not have access to staff records of other civil service Departments and is therefore unable to confirm if they are still working in the civil service.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 November to October each year Employed after six months Employed after 12 months 
			 2010-11 94 92 
			 2011-12 97 93 
			 2012-13 96 96

Radioactivity

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the level of Government financial liability for radioactive incidents at UK nuclear plants.

Michael Fallon: The UK has an established and robust regulatory framework that ensures the nuclear industry effectively manages the risks associated with the operation of civil nuclear installations and facilities. As a result of this approach the probability of a large scale (i.e. beyond design basis) accident is considered to be exceedingly small, and any advance estimate of the possible costs (and any Government financial liability) would be speculation.

Renewable Energy

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to ensure that an Inter-Governmental Agreement is signed in time for projects to export wind energy from Ireland to the UK to start by 2020;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with his Irish counterpart on the Inter-Governmental Agreement on renewable energy trading;
	(3)  when the Inter-Governmental Agreement between the UK and Ireland is likely to be signed.

Michael Fallon: DECC Ministers and officials meet their Irish counterparts regularly on a number of issues relating to EU energy policy, including renewable energy trading. The United Kingdom and Ireland signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the energy sector in January 2013. Since then, British and Irish officials have been working closely together to understand how Irish renewable energy resources might be developed to the mutual benefit of both countries. This is the first time that projects of this kind—bringing forward cross-border EU trade in renewable energy—are being considered. They are both innovative and complex, bringing risks and benefits that need to be weighed. Working with project developers and delivery partners, the energy Departments of both countries have undertaken a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and assessed regulatory, licensing and planning implications for both countries. Good progress has been made and, as stated in the MOU, we continue to work towards an Inter-Governmental Agreement.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Social Rented Homes

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress his Department has made on the target for provision for social rented homes in the recently published Homes and Communities Agency prospectus.

Stephen Williams: In January, we invited bids for funding to deliver 165,000 affordable homes over three years from 2015. This will be the fastest rate of building affordable homes for at least 20 years. This is on top of the 170,000 homes we are on target to deliver by 2015.

Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that residents' objections and previous planning refusals are seriously considered on applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects.

Nicholas Boles: The planning process for nationally significant infrastructure projects allows residents a minimum of one month to register their interest and outline initial objections. There is a further opportunity during the six month examination period for residents to make detailed representations and present their views at an open hearing.

Council Tax

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department is providing to help freeze council tax.

Eric Pickles: More than £800 million of funding is available for a council tax freeze in the next two years—the total amount of funding throughout this Parliament is up to £5.2 billion. This is worth up to £1,100 on a Band D home for the average household.

Housing: Rural Areas

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how his Department monitors the use of rural exception site policy.

Nicholas Boles: We have been absolutely clear in the National Planning Policy Framework that we support the use of rural exception sites. It is for local communities and councils to work together and bring forward this type of development where needed.
	In the Local Authority Housing Statistics return, we collect and publish information about all new build additional affordable housing delivered on rural exception sites.
	The most recent dataset can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-housing-statistics-data-returns-for-2012-to-2013

Public Houses

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many public houses were built in (a) the UK, (b) Lancashire and (c) Preston in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (vi) 2013; and how many are projected to be built in 2014.

Brandon Lewis: This information is not collected centrally.

TRANSPORT

Buses: Tyres

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent representations his Department has made to the EU for reforms to tyre requirements required during MOTs on (a) buses and (b) coaches;
	(2)  what his policy is on introducing a maximum age on tyres for use on (a) buses and (b) coaches;
	(3)  how many passenger service (a) coaches and (b) buses have failed an MOT as a result of tyre failures in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has not made any representations to the EU for reforms to annual test requirements for tyres fitted to buses or coaches.
	The replacement age of vehicle tyres is not legislated for in the United Kingdom or European Union and there is little evidence available on the effects of tyre ageing to support the introduction of a maximum age limit. Appropriate research may help inform decisions on the introduction of a limit and officials are considering whether future studies might be needed.
	As an interim measure the Department has published guidance to the bus and coach industry recommending that tyres over 10 years old are not fitted to the front axle of these vehicles.
	The Department does not have separate figures of annual test failures for passenger service coaches and buses. However, the following table shows the combined figures for all passenger service vehicles based upon the criteria used by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency who undertake the inspections.
	
		
			 PSV defects for tyres, April 2003 to March 2014 
			 Financial year Defect item 07 size/type tyres (percentage) Defect item 08 tyre condition (percentage) Total PSV tests (number) Number of defects size/type tyres) Number of defects tyre condition) 
			 2003-04 0.221 0.589 81,366 180 479 
			 2004-05 0.208 0.562 80,470 167 452 
			 2005-06 0.206 0.545 81,356 168 443 
			 2006-07 0.214 0.533 81,684 175 435 
			 2007-08 0.177 0.528 81,823 145 432 
			 2008-09 0.189 0.478 83,752 158 400 
			 2009-10 0.218 0.414 83,068 181 344 
			 2010-11 0.160 0.440 82,914 133 365 
			 2011-12 0.163 0.488 81,428 133 397 
			 2012-13 0.171 0.459 79,096 135 363 
			 2003-13 0.193 0.503 816,957 1,577 4,109 
			       
			 Current financial year      
			 April 2013 to January 2014 0.160 0.388 65,688 105 255 
		
	
	The size and type column refers to the suitability of the tyre for use on the vehicle being inspected. The tyre condition column relates to a detailed inspection of the tyre for specific defects. Further details of the inspection criteria can be found in sections 7 and 8 of the public service vehicle inspection manual which is published online:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270358/public-service-vehicle-psv-inspection-manual-2014.pdf

Buses: Tyres

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many spot checks VOSA have undertaken on passenger service (a) buses and (b) coaches in each of the last 10 years; how many such checks have been undertaken in (i) Liverpool, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the North West; and how many such checks have identified the presence of illegal tyres.

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			 Roadworthiness checks by calendar year 
			  Liverpool (where identifiable) Merseyside (including Liverpool) North West (where identifiable) 
			  Checks With one or more tyre defects Checks With one or more tyre defects Checks With one or more tyre defects 
			 2004 82 3 151 3 988 15 
			 2005 225 9 318 12 1,072 20 
			 2006 156 2 514 14 1,516 33 
			 2007 109 3 304 20 2,107 68 
			 2008 33 2 208 5 1,758 37 
			 2009 102 3 269 14 1,333 44 
			 2010 53 1 234 7 1,811 36 
			 2011 193 1 510 12 2,302 58 
			 2012 91 4 290 14 1,550 50 
			 2013 131 6 372 26 1,671 56 
			 Note: It is not possible to distinguish between buses and coaches.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female.

Stephen Hammond: The information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Female Male 
			 2012-13 46 54 
			 2011-12 37 63 
			 2010-11 41 59 
			 2009-10 46 54 
			 2008-09 46 54

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group.

Stephen Hammond: The following table provides the information requested and the column marked “unknown” represents the number of employees who had not declared their status.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  White British Other ethnic minority group Unknown 
			 2012-13 87 4 9 
			 2011-12 88 3 9 
			 2010-11 89 4 7 
			 2009-10 85 8 7 
			 2008-09 89 5 6

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Stephen Hammond: The information is provided in the following table. The column marked “unknown” shows the number of people who have not declared their status or who have preferred not to say.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Disabled Non-disabled Unknown 
			 2012-13 6 77 17 
			 2011-12 6 80 14 
			 2010-11 6 73 21 
			 2009-10 5 83 12 
			 2008-09 8 83 9

Driving Tests

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new drivers passed their first driving test in each of the last five years. [Official Report, 12 March 2014, Vol. 577, c. 5MC.]

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008-09 345,411 
			 2009-10 320,695 
			 2010-11 744,044 
			 2011-12 332,697 
			 2012-13 310,373 
			 Total 2,053,220

Driving: Licensing

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new drivers were awarded a probationary driving licence in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not issue probationary driving licences. Provisional licences are issued to those learning to drive and full licences are issued to those who have passed a test of driving competence.
	All learner drivers who pass a test of competence to drive fall within the two year probationary period under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995. If they accumulate six penalty points or more during the two year period their full entitlement will be revoked and they will have to pass another driving test.
	Below is the number of drivers that passed a first driving test in Great Britain and claimed their first full driving licence in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  Number of drivers 
			 2009 728,236 
			 2010 696,472 
			 2011 751,685 
			 2012 705,785 
			 2013 666,410 
			 20141 74,574 
			 1 To 15 February.

East Coast Railway Line

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals there are in the Network Rail Control Period 5 for the upgrade of the East Coast Main Line between Huntingdon and Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail is responsible for developing options for how best to use the funding provided in the Control Period 5 settlement for improving connectivity on the East Coast Main Line route. The scope of this work includes studying possible options for increasing capacity on the section of line between Huntingdon and Peterborough.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many responses were received to the High Speed 2 Environmental Statement; and if he will publish the names of those who responded.

Robert Goodwill: The deadline for sending responses to the Environmental Statement Consultation was midnight on 27 February. As of 1 March we had received 21,700 responses; however, responses posted on the 27 February may not arrive until 3 March so this figure is likely to increase.
	We will publish the names of all those who responded, except for those who asked for confidentiality, in due course. This cannot be done at the same time as confirmation of the total number of responses received as additional time is required to redact personal details from these correspondents. These names will be published prior to the Second Reading of the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work.

Stephen Hammond: The information is as follows:
	During 2012-13 87% of maternity leavers returned to work
	During 2011-12 88% of maternity leavers returned to work
	During 2010-11 80% of maternity leavers returned to work
	During 2009-10 79% of maternity leavers returned to work
	Data for the year 2008-09 is not available as it is not possible to distinguish maternity leavers from other long term leavers for this year.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the civil service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: Information is available on the proportion of civil servants in the department who had been on maternity leave and were still employed in the civil service for 12 months after their return to work for each of the last four financial years but it is not possible to identify from this number those who were still employed six months after their return to work.
	At 31 March 2013, 76% of maternity leavers who returned to work were in post 12 months after their return.
	At 31 March 2012, 67% of maternity leavers who returned to work were in post 12 months after their return.
	At 31 March 2011, 71% of maternity leavers who returned to work were in post 12 months after their return.
	At 31 March 2010, 69% of maternity leavers who returned to work were in post 12 months after their return.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department.

Stephen Hammond: Eligible staff are entitled to take up to 52 weeks maternity leave. The maternity leave period is made up of ‘ordinary maternity leave’ and ‘additional maternity leave’, each at 26 weeks.
	For the 26 week period of ‘ordinary maternity leave’ an employee will receive full pay. This payment is made up of statutory maternity pay and a contractual enhancement to the full pay rate. Additional maternity leave is paid at the statutory maternity pay rate for the first 13 weeks and then is unpaid for the remaining 13 weeks.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Stephen Hammond: There are no workplace nurseries that are directly operated by the Department for Transport (DFT). DFT has one workplace nursery which is operated by a third party on the Department's property. This was operating on 5 May 2010 and 5 February 2014. There are no plans for the nursery to cease operating in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 238W on parking: fees and charges, what the (a) name and (b) region of registration is of each of the seven other companies which were suspended from requesting vehicle keeper details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in 2013.

Stephen Hammond: The following table provides the names and regions of the seven other companies which were suspended from requesting vehicle keeper details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in 2013:
	
		
			 Company name Region 
			 Proserve Ipswich 
			 Hillier Hopkins Corporate Recovery Watford 
			 Bank of Ireland Business Finance Belfast 
			 Royal Sun Alliance Horsham 
			 Home Group Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
			 Countrywide Commercial Services Ltd London 
			 CDL Cheshire Data Systems Ltd Dunfermline 
		
	
	The ‘region of registration’ information is the Registered Address Area taken from information held by Companies House and the Finance Conduct Authority (FCA) Mutual Public Address.

Peterborough Station

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail on integrated transport and connectivity at the remodelled Peterborough railway station; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Officials from the Department for Transport have been involved in cross-industry discussions and meetings led by Network Rail to identify options for how best to use the funding provided in the Control Period 5 settlement (covering the period 2014 to 2019) for improving connectivity on the East Coast Main Line route. The scope of this study includes the Peterborough area and would build on the £43 million already spent at Peterborough in Control Period 4 (2009 to 2014).

Rights of Way

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on schemes for (a) cyclists, (b) bridleways and (c) pedestrians in each of the last five years.

Robert Goodwill: The provision of cycling schemes, bridleways and pedestrian facilities are the responsibility of the relevant local authority. We provide funding through the Integrated Transport block to local authorities to use for small transport improvement schemes, which could include those aimed at pedestrians and cyclists or for bridleways.
	In addition the Department has provided funding specifically for cycling; I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 329W.
	Schemes for pedestrians are included in Links to Schools, Local Sustainable Transport Fund and Community Linking Places Fund. Links to Schools was allocated £12 million, Local Sustainable transport Fund £600 million and the Community Linking Places Fund £15.5 million but it is not possible to disaggregate exactly how much was spent on pedestrians. With regards to bridleways, there is no specific funding from the Department.

Road Signs and Markings

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) criteria and (b) guidance his Department has issued to the Highways Agency on the (i) frequency of messaging and (ii) reasons for prioritising messages on overhead gantry signs.

Robert Goodwill: The criteria and guidance the Department for Transport uses to govern the Highways Agency comes from within section 64 of the Road Traffic Act and the traffic signs regulations and general directions. However, neither the Act nor directions prescribe the frequency or reasons for prioritising messages.
	Therefore, the agency has developed its own policy for the use of variable signs and signals, agreed with the Department for Transport in December 2011. This policy defines the prioritisation of all messages and the frequency of campaign legends. The frequency with which general traffic management legends are set is dependent on current and future road conditions.

DEFENCE

Accountancy

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on external accountancy support in each year since 2010; and what the value has been of each of his Department's external accountancy contracts in that time.

Philip Dunne: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
	Substantive answer from Dr Murrison to Kevan Jones:
	Philip Dunne undertook to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question of 22 January (Official Report, column 220W) about the Ministry of Defence's spending on external accountancy support in each financial year since 2010-11. I set out this information for 2012-13 and 2013-14 to date in the table below. Comparable information before 2012-13 would be available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Financial year Total expenditure(£) Contract expenditure (£) 
			 2012-13 £1,966,652 Independent assurance of accuracy of 2012-13 accrual values in Defence and Equipment Support—£362,000 
			   Review and validation of 2011-12 accrual values in Defence and Equipment Support—£237,000 
			   Net Fixed Asset Register Tiger Team and Inventory Reconciliation Project Support costs 2012-13—£1,367,652 
			    
			 2013-14 £855,153 Inventory Reconciliation Project—£665,205 
			  (to end December 2013) International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee 4 study—£189,948 
		
	
	We are increasingly able to do this type of accountancy work ourselves.

Afghanistan

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) human rights and (b) international humanitarian law training recruits of the Afghan National Army Officer Academy receive as part of their programme.

Mark Francois: Human rights and international law are themes that run through the entire Afghan National Army Officer Academy training syllabus though the cadets receive two specific lessons early on in the course. These lessons provide a basic understanding of the relevant principles. The practical application of these principles is subsequently demonstrated in various other modules throughout the course.

Afghanistan

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the 270 members of the first kandak at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy are women.

Mark Francois: There are no female recruits within the first Kandak. Female recruits will begin training in the summer of 2014.

Armed Forces: Elections

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to enable service personnel to vote in local, national and European elections and local referenda.

Anna Soubry: The Government is committed to members of the armed forces being able to take their full part in the democratic process, in accordance with the Armed Forces Covenant.
	The Ministry of Defence works closely with the Cabinet Office and the Electoral Commission to raise awareness of voting registration procedures, including through an annual campaign to promote service voter registration. As part of the annual campaign, a Defence Instruction notice is issued, and its key messages reinforced at unit level through posted routine orders. In addition, unit registration officers are expected to hold service registration days at all units.
	The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 has provisions that will better support military personnel serving overseas to have their postal ballots included in the count by extending the electoral timeframe. As part of the extension it will be possible for ballot papers to be sent out earlier and will allow more time for voters to return their forms, ensuring their vote is counted.
	However, registration is a personal matter and it is for service personnel to decide where and how they register to vote.

Armed Forces: Pay

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria his Department uses to decide which people will be asked to repay money received under the Financial Retention Incentive scheme.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence uses a variety of financial incentives (FIs) to assist with recruitment and retention of armed forces personnel. FIs are targeted, temporary measures to address current or projected manning shortfalls, particularly in essential specialisations such as operational pinch point trades, specific to the requirements of each service.
	The criteria used to determine whether an individual has to repay a FRI differs for each scheme. They will generally be linked to circumstances in which the claimant has not met the conditions originally agreed when the payment is claimed. Such criteria are clearly stated within scheme documentation, a copy of which is signed by all claimants as part the application process, prior to any payment being authorised. In most cases the requirement to repay a FRI in full arises from a failure to serve out the whole return of service (ROS) agreed. The ROS is a minimum period of service, within the related specialism, offered by the individual in return for the monies paid. There may also be occasions where payments have been claimed in error and in those cases affected personnel are normally asked to repay the FRI once the error has been identified.
	In exceptional circumstances (e.g. failure on medical or welfare grounds) repayment may be waived. In such cases individuals are invited to submit details to the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency where they are considered on a case by case basis. In addition, where armed forces personnel die in service, or are leaving service early as part of the current redundancy programme, all outstanding FIs are waived and so not recovered.

Armed Forces: Pay

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many people asked to repay money received through the Financial Retention Incentive schemes have previously served in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq;
	(2)  how much his Department has reclaimed following requests to armed forces personnel to repay money received under the Financial Retention Incentive scheme to date;
	(3)  how many people have been asked to repay money received as part of the Financial Retention Incentive scheme since 2010; and in which branch of the armed forces each such person served;
	(4)  how many armed forces personnel have been asked to repay in part or in full any money received under the Financial Retention Scheme in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Career Development

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were (a) male and (b) female;
	(2)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic minority group;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were promoted in each of the last five years were identified as (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled.

Anna Soubry: The information requested for gender and ethnic minority is shown in the following tables.
	With regards to disability, levels of self-declaration on the Ministry of Defence's human resources management system are currently insufficient to provide statistically valid data, following conversion of the system to 2011 Census definitions of disability. Declaration rates are being monitored, and information will be available when a statistically viable threshold is reached. Information was not routinely collected or calculated for promotion analysis for the period 2009-10 or earlier.
	
		
			 Promotion by gender proportion for promotion period 2009-10 to 2012-13 
			  Male promotions Female promotions Total MOD main total strength 
			 Promotion period Number Proportion Number Proportion Number Male proportion Female proportion 
			 2009-10 990 54.6 820 45.4 1,810 61.4 38.6 
			 2010-11 580 60.8 370 39.2 960 61.0 39.0 
			 2011-12 750 58.4 530 41.6 1,280 61.6 38.4 
			 2012-13 1,450 52.7 1,300 47.3 2,760 62.1 37.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Promotion by ethnicity proportion for promotion period 2009-10 to 2012-13 
			  White BME Total MOD main total strength 
			 Promotion period Number promoted Proportion Number promoted Proportion Number Proportion white Proportion BME 
			 2009-10 1,560 96.5 60 3.5 1,620 96.8 3.2 
			 2010-11 870 96.9 30 3.1 900 96.6 3.4 
			 2011-12 1,170 97.3 30 2.8 1,200 96.4 3.6 
			 2012-13 2,470 95.7 110 4.3 2,580 96.2 3.8 
			 Note: White includes all personnel with a self declared status of white. British white is a nationality category which cannot be separately identified within the Department's self declared ethnicity data. White covers personnel with a self declared ethnicity of white, English/Welsh/Scottish/N.Irish/British-white, Gypsy or Irish Traveller-white, white Irish, other-white, and Irish-white, on the human resources management system.

Cryptography

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the Cipher project to date.

Philip Dunne: The total cost of the CIPHER project was £46 million. Work ceased in June 2013 following the Assessment Phase which concluded that the project would not meet the full defence capability required to offer long term value for money.
	The work carried out during the CIPHER Assessment Phase is being used to inform necessary future work to allow the capability to be met.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes the promotion of equality and diversity (E&D) seriously and has adopted a unified philosophy towards E&D issues at the strategic level. We want our whole work force of civilians, military, reserves and contractors to be drawn from the breadth of the society we serve. To deliver our aims the Department .has published its Strategic Equality Objectives 2012-16, which is available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/227514/ea10_strategic_equality_objectives.pdf
	These objectives superseded the Equality and Diversity Schemes 2008-11 publication, which is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/28142/Equality_Diversity_2008_2011.pdf
	In addition, individual areas of the MOD produce materials to promote inclusion at a local level. The cost of producing centrally and locally produced publications cannot be disaggregated from wider budgetary areas.
	The MOD publishes a biannual breakdown of diversity statistics which contains a wide-ranging analysis across all diversity categories. The next publication is due on 29 May 2014, and a link to this series can be found at the following internet address:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140116142443/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/combined/diversity-dashboard

EU Defence Policy

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with European counterparts about the role of the UK's nuclear deterrent in European defence.

Andrew Murrison: Ministers and officials meet their European counterparts on a regular basis in bilateral and multilateral fora including the EU and NATO to discuss a variety of topics related to defence. There have, however, been no specific discussions about the role of the UK's nuclear deterrent in the EU. The UK's nuclear deterrent is declared to the defence of our NATO allies.

HMS Scott

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the refit of HMS Scott.

Philip Dunne: The refit of HMS Scott has not yet been completed. Final costs are subject to ongoing negotiations with Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd.

Maternity Leave

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who were on maternity leave in each of the last five years returned to work;
	(2)  what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department;
	(3)  what proportion of civil servants in his Department who had been on maternity leave were still employed in the Civil Service (a) six and (b) 12 months after their return to work in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: Ministry of Defence civilian employees are entitled to take 12 months maternity leave. For those who meet the criteria, this includes up to 26 weeks of full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory maternity pay.
	Information presented in the following table relates to the year in which a period of maternity leave commenced. The requested information is not yet available for personnel who started their maternity leave in 2013.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Returned to work after maternity leave 99 97 92 96 
			 Employed six months after return 89 83 76 80 
			 Employed 12 months after return 85 74 72 77

Military Bases: Nature Conservation

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on the conservation of the environment and wildlife at its (a) military bases and (b) training centres in the UK in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: This information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Military Police

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written statement of 21 November 2014, Official Report, column 56WS, on Police and Guarding Agency, what the future arrangements for the MoD guards service are; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) is completing the transition to its new tasks, and recently advertised for new recruits to fill vacancies on the sites where it will continue to be the security provider.

NATO Nuclear Planning Group

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings Ministers and officials in his Department have had with the NATO Nuclear Planning Group since May 2010.

Andrew Murrison: The Nuclear Planning Group is a Defence ministerial body which in peacetime normally meets on an annual basis in this format. It is supported by a Nuclear Planning Group (Staff Group), High Level Group (HLG) and HLG Ad Hoc Working Group that meet on a more regular basis as required.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (A) 5 May 2010 and (B) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16.

Anna Soubry: The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Ministry of Defence encourages the development of affordable, high quality child care provision for its employees. We support our service and civilian personnel through a salary sacrifice scheme which provides child care vouchers for payment of any form of registered or approved child care.
	Authority to provide child care support schemes, including workplace nurseries, is delegated to top level budget holders and agency chief executives. Such schemes are usually managed locally and operated by contractors who are subject to market conditions which dictate their commercial viability.

Staff

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether shortages of suitably experienced and qualified personnel will continue to be identified as his Department's top safety concern in the 2013-14 Safety and Environmental Protection Assurance Report.

Anna Soubry: The 2013-14 Safety and Environmental Protection Assurance Report is in the process of being compiled. When completed the report will be placed in the public domain.

Staff

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review on the number of people employed in the defence and aerospace industries in the UK.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collect information on the number of people employed in the defence and aerospace industries including the number of jobs affected by the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The MOD continues to spend a significant amount on procuring equipment, support and technology for the UK armed forces, and forecasts spending of £164 billion over the next 10 years, much of which supports a significant number of highly skilled jobs across the UK.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Tornado Airworthiness Review Team report.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 283W.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  who authorised the inclusion of the Delete Tornado Collision Warning System option in Planning Round 11; and what the reason was for its inclusion;
	(2)  who cancelled the installation of the Tornado Collision Warning System proposed in Planning Round 11; and what the reason was for its cancellation;
	(3)  what the estimated cost saving was of the Delete Tornado Collision Warning System option in Planning Round 11.

Philip Dunne: Planning Round decisions seek to support the achievement of Defence priorities by rebalancing Defence investment accordingly. They take into account a number of factors, including costs, benefits, risks and safety.
	In Planning Round 11, the option to cancel the Tornado Collision Warning System was part of the package endorsed by the Defence Board. However, the then Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), asked that the decision be reviewed as part of the 3-Month Exercise, and the measure was reinstated in June 2011.
	The estimated cost saving envisaged from deleting Tornado Collision Warning was £50 million over 10 years from 2011-12 to 2020-21.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what communications took place between the Director General of the Military Aviation Authority and the Air Chief Marshal on the Delete Tornado Warning System option in Planning Round 11;
	(2)  what communications his Department had with the Military Aviation Authority on the Delete Tornado Warning System option in Planning Round 11.

Philip Dunne: During the 2011 Planning Round process, formal advice from the Military Aviation Authority (MAA) and other safety advisers was commissioned via the Defence Environmental and Safety Board (DESB). A DESB report on Planning Round 11 was provided to Defence Board members and the then Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), in February 2011.
	The Director General of the MAA was also in regular communication with members of the Defence Board, including the Chief of the Air Staff, and the DESB during the Planning Round.

Veterans: Ambulance Services

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Health a policy of inviting former members of HM Armed Forces to consider a career with the ambulance service; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: A career in the armed forces equips service leavers with a wide range of specialist and transferable skills. Such a career will also have instilled and developed characteristics such as leadership, initiative and tenacity, which is why this group of people are in high demand in the public, private, voluntary and community sectors. Our current resettlement package offers service-leavers training, resources and career advice to prepare them for potential future careers. Those who leave the armed forces are often well suited to a second career in the emergency services, and should certainly consider any opportunities that arise in the ambulance service.